New Wings
by Jess Starflower
Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment...Continued inside.
1. Decisions

New Wings

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter One: Decisions

The dry season had well and truly set in. The stinging sand carried by the _kamiseen_ did not reach down in the canyons of Aerie, but the pervasive howling of the dry wind and intense heat of the day more than made up for it. The only ones enjoying this time of the year were the desert dragons, and even they sought shade when the burning Sun Disk of Re-Haket, the Sun God, reached its zenith. However, in the late afternoon sun the dragons of Aerie were sprawled out on the cliffs, basking in the heat and looking like a wayward child had emptied his mother's jewelry chest out on the sand.

This sight of so many dragons was nothing new to the inhabitants of the city of the Jousters, but Mayat and her younger brother, Aryet-ke, were still awestruck by the images. The pair spared a moment to watch before hurrying into the shade of a small tavern. Businesses were still few and far between, but the business-like Akkadians who found themselves without much in the way of belongings after the collapse of Alta City were establishing inns where Jousters could eat something other than the staple bread and beef served at the mess hall (and get stinking drunk), and those not directly associated with the care of dragons could grab a bite to eat and socialize.

The drunks had not yet crawled out into the open, so Mayat and Aryet were relatively alone in the inn. As the son and daughter of a scribe who worked tirelessly, they frequented this place often and were recognized by the barkeeper.

"What can I get for you?" The kindly old Akkadian asked. With permanent laugh lines and a stooped posture, the pair looked up old Amphitryon as a grandfather-like figure.

"Fish, please. And two glasses of watered-down wine." Mayat plunked the coins down on the countertop.

"Fish, eh?" Amphitryon raised an eyebrow. "And what, may I ask, is the occasion?"

"The Jousters have announced a new method of distributing eggs and accepting dragon boys." Aryet said, settling on a stool in front of the counter. "Anyone who wants to be a Jouster has to work as a dragon boy for six months for an adult dragon and six months for a nestling before being entrusted with an egg. They are taking boys tomorrow, and my father gave me permission to join!" Aryet's eyes gleamed in anticipation. "I'm going to be a Jouster!

Amphitryon nodded. "So you are finally flying the nest, eh?"

Mayat grinned. "Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, he has made a good argument, and Father is willing to let him try with his blessing."

"Try?" Aryet scoffed. "I will get a dragon, and he'll grow to be the biggest dragon in the compound, and then you will be begging for me to let you ride him."

The old barkeeper laughed at the two's sparring. "You had better watch out, Mayat, he is determined. But I should correct you; the larger dragons are the females."

Aryet waved his hand as if this was of no consequence. "My dragon will still be the biggest and the strongest."

Amphitryon set a plate of thinly sliced and fried fish in front of them and carefully measured out the ratio of wine to water he thought the two could take. Mayat was fifteen summers old, and had a slightly more concentrated glass than her brother, who was twelve.

"Here you are." He said, before bustling off to attend another group of customers.

Mayat savored the rare taste of fish as it melted on her tongue. Who would have guessed that fish, which was the staple fare of the poor in Alta, would become so precious here. The contrast of the humid, swampy delta of Alta and the arid, scorching desert was immense. Mayat was grateful for this little taste of home, even if it cost all of her savings for the year.

As she chewed, Mayat reflected on the past events that had led to this point. Her family lived in the Fourth Ring of Alta City, among the working class, except that her father made the daily trek to the Second Ring where the priests and temples were located. When the Magi began taking the Fledglings, then the Winged Ones themselves, her father had been one of the first to know and bring his concerns to the temple's High Priestess.

Ignored, the family heard of the trouble brewing in the First and Second Ring nightly. And then the world of their home was shaken to its roots, quite literally. It was pure luck and the grace of Besh, the pot-bellied luck god, that they had been sleeping outside to escape the heat, as the tiny house collapsed on itself when the first great earthquake occurred. Her neighbors had not been so lucky. Mayat shuddered as she recalled the wreckage wrought by the quake, and felt a flash of anger that the Winged Ones had been so drained of power by the evil Magi that those with the Gift of Fore-Sight had not warned the populace.

From there, things in Alta city spiraled downward. First the earthquake, then the disgrace of one of the Royal Twins in line for the throne, Toreth, and his death, well, _murder, _then every Jouster in the Compound had left for combat…and never returned. When the Royal Kings were deposed and the two false-twin Magi substituted, her father, Rashet, deemed the city too dangerous for their little family.

Following the instructions of the Priests of the Temple of Thet whom Rashet worked for, the family sold most of their belongings and fled, traveling from the village temples of At-thera until they left Alta altogether. After bartering passage from the Bedu, the inhabitants of the deep desert, the worn group finally arrived at Sanctuary, the center of the rebellion against the Magi. When the wing of Jousters under the command of Kiron, rider of the scarlet and gold Avatre and Aket-ten, the first female Jouster, thwarted the Magi's plot and united Alta and Tia under the rule of Great King Ari and Great Queen Nofret, Mayat had been beside herself with joy. Now the nations were at peace, and being governed at the capital of Tia, Mefis, as Alta City had mostly been destroyed when the Magi's tower fell and unleashed a powerful earthquake on the city. Deciding that he had had enough of priests, Rashet moved the family from Sanctuary, which was now the center of religion in the combined nation of Alta and Tia, now Altia, to the Jousters city, Aerie, where he worked as a scribe under Haraket, the once-Overseer of the Tian Jouster Compound.

Mayat and her brother had been enamored with the brilliant colors of the desert dragons and in awe of the bond between the dragons and their riders from the moment they had set eyes on them. Everyone in Alta City had heard of the amazing tame dragon and her rider, but Mayat had not quite believed the stories until she saw Kiron and Avatre for herself, and all the other boys in his wing with their dragons. Resigning themselves to admire from afar, the news that Aryet, at least, would be able to have a dragon was cause to celebrate.

Mayat looked at her brother as he stuffed his face with both caring and sadness. She knew she would see him only on rare occasions, and she was worried for him. Yes, he had matured quite a bit on their journey, but he was still her younger brother and she felt very protective of him. She shuddered. The danger he might face was also gnawing at her innards.

Just two seasons after the fall of the Magi, the next threat to her world occurred. She could still recall quite vividly the image of the Jousters fighting the army of Nameless Ones who had come to conquer the lands of Alta and Tia, not to mention the awesome sight of the gods of the Altians warring with the evil Goddess of the Nameless Ones. She wasn't sure what happened exactly, but somehow various key figures had become avatars of the gods and defeated the cursed people and Tamat the Renderer. The awesome sight of the four Jousters, Great King Ari, Great Queen Nofret, Lord Jouster Kiron, and Lady Aket-ten fighting the column of lightning and shadow that was that _creature_ was a sight that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

That occurred almost two months ago, and the Jousters were just now beginning to recover. Hopefully, the worst her brother would have to face would be bandits and caravan thieves.

"Mayat, what is the matter?" Aryet said, finally noticing her look.

"Nothing, nothing. Just thinking about the future." Mayat said shaking herself out of her reverie.

Aryet sighed. "I wish you could join the Jousters as well."

"Silly goose, there are no female Jousters." Mayat chided.

"What about Aket-ten?" Aryet countered.

"She only bonded to Re-eth-ke when Toreth died." Mayat pointed out. "And it was more accident than anything else. She was the only one who could calm the grieving dragonet. _And_ she is a Winged One and can Speak with the dragons. I do not have that Gift, or any Gift at all."

"I still think you should come with me," Aryet muttered mutinously.

"It's touching that you are so concerned but seeing you up on a dragon will be good enough for me," Mayat said with a smile. She remembered how they wished and dreamed together, snuck into the dragon pens at Sanctuary when no one was around to gawk at the dragons, and that blessed moment where Kiron offered them a chance to witness Avatre's sand bath and help with the oiling.

"I apologize if I'm interrupting, but would you really like to become a Jouster?" A stranger they had not noticed sitting next to Mayat spoke.

Mayat look startled for a moment before replying. "Yes, of course."

The young woman held herself with a confidence she had only ever seen in noble persons, and her hair was cut short at her chin, in the hairstyle of the Jousters. The features of the lady were unrecognizable as she was in a position where her facial features were covered in shadow. "The Jousters are accepting the first female to present herself tomorrow. I have not found any girl yet willing to come from Mefis to live in Aerie, and you are the only female I've seen here who has expressed an interest in becoming a Jouster."

Mayat's jaw literally dropped, before she gathered her wits. "Well, I…" She stumbled over words in her astonishment. "Who are you?"

The woman paused before saying, "I am a female Jouster. I am training at Mefis, where a corps of girls is learning to become messengers under the command of Aket-ten and Great Queen Nofret. For reasons that I am not at liberty to disclose, Nofret has decided to begin to train girls here as well. I have been trying to recruit young women, but none seem to share your ambition."

"Mayat, you can train with me!" Aryet said triumphantly.

"I don't know-" Mayat said, unsure. It was one thing to wish and dream, but it was quite another to be forced into this predicament. On one hand, she was entranced by the idea of flying and sharing that bond that she had ached over for so long. Her natural instinct for helping others gave this idea another facet; if she was a Jouster, she could help and save people. On the other hand, it _was_ going to be a lot of work. Not that she wasn't accustomed to work, but she had no illusions about what would be expected of her. Also, while her family might support her in this, her neighbors most certainly would not. Even her mother might have some objections to her only daughter becoming something other than a scribe or housewife.

The Jouster shrugged. "It is your decision, but make it quickly. Unless you want to make the journey to Mefis, you should act now before someone else takes the position." The woman drank the last of her wine before exiting.

Mayat looked after her before glancing at her brother. "But I-"

"Mayat!" Aryet interrupted her. "You want this more than anything, maybe even more than me. It will be just like we dreamed; we'll train together, and become heroes together, and we'll never have to leave each other behind!"

Mayat considered that. She and her brother were the closest she had ever seen two siblings. They had never had many outside friends, and they always came before others. Letting go of Aryet-ke would have been the most difficult part of watching him become a Jouster. If she became a Jouster as well, they never would have to part, and she could watch his back and make sure he never got hurt.

"Do you really want this to become the biggest regret of your life?" Aryet asked.

Mayat thought for a moment and then laughed. "_From the mouth of babies comes wisdom._" She quoted. "Alright, I will ask Father tonight."

xxx

Aket-ten smiled as she watched the brother and sister she had just talked to depart. The girl seemed level-headed, modest, intelligent, and most importantly, _wanted_ to become a Jouster. Haras knew she had had a hard enough time finding a girl that even met that vital quality. The priestesses that she had relied on to fill the ranks in Mefis would have balked at the idea of living in Aerie and training with men, but the girl seemed confident enough, and already proved she was happy with the minimalistic attitude of Aerie.

She recalled the conversation with Kiron last night…

_The two had been surveying the fruits of the long months of labor; a thriving city of Jousters and a large flock of dragons. Aket-ten had just filled in Kiron on the progress of the female Jousters in Mefis when Kiron cleared his throat. "About that…"_

"_What about them?" Aket-ten asked, giving him a warning look. _

_Apparently Kiron remembered what had happened the last time he had voiced his objections of female Jousters to her and hastily continued. "I have no objections, but, well, there is a bit of dissent in the ranks."_

"_Well? Do they not think we put in just as much work as they do?" Aket-ten snapped._

"_Yes." Kiron said bluntly. "The truth is, they see Mefis as a haven, and are a bit jealous of the amenities the city provides. They do not know how the training works, and believe, however erroneously, that the girls are being coddled." He snorted. "The stories brought back by the younger Jousters are doing nothing to improve that image."_

_Aket-ten clamped down on her irritation. The four idiot messengers who had first flown the dispatches from Sanctuary to Mefis had been a thorn in her side since they arrived. The girls were just now starting to take over flying the messages, and they never stayed in one location for too long, including in Aerie. "So, what do you propose we do?" She asked belligerently._

"_If you recall, I came up with the idea of letting boys who wanted to become Jousters undertake a sort of apprenticeship as dragon boys for several months before receiving an egg." Aket-ten nodded. "I am going to instate that program the day after tomorrow so that when their apprenticeship is completed they can receive their eggs immediately. Perhaps if you could find a girl you think to be a good candidate and inform her about this, we can show that a girl can work just as hard as a boy when raising a dragon. When her dragon is old enough to fly, you can guide her to Mefis and she can become one of your messengers."_

_Aket-ten opened her mouth automatically to protest before pausing to consider. "That's not a bad idea." She conceded after a few moments._

_Kiron grinned at her. "I may have had my doubts before, but your female wing certainly works hard and, as far as I can see, is just as important to the country as the fighting wings are." He kissed her forehead. "Find a good candidate, and I'll present the idea to Haraket tomorrow."_

_Aket-ten grimaced, knowing full well what the Overseer's views on female Jousters were, before nodding and departing._

Aket-ten was quite happy with the girl she found, as she had not the slightest trace of uncertainty. Aket-ten recognized the longing in the girl's voice and knew that she would present herself at the Jousters Compound the next day.

Giving Re-eth-ke the signal to take off, Aket-ten turned her dragon towards the direction she saw Kiron and Avatre fly and began planning how to tell her beloved of her day's efforts.

**Authors Note: So, I'm embarking on my next epic!fic, and am slightly nervous. I've noticed a distinct lack of Jouster fanfics, so I'm not sure how this will be received. I've attempted to formulate this so that those who have not read the series will understand what is going on, so please tell your friends. If there is any part that is unclear, please don't hesitate to send me a message or leave a review. **

**Please, please, PLEASE review, as it is amazing how motivational it is. I would love feedback on this, as I'm going to try my darndest not to let Mayat slip into Mary-Suedom, so if you see something that screams "self-insertion" or anything, I beg of you, TELL ME! I try to hold myself to a certain standard of writing, and I would feel mortally embarrassed to have any sub-par fic under my name. I'm writing this to explore the idea of what happened to the Nameless Ones' army after ****Aerie**** and the Female Jousters, so I'm trying my best to write a good fic and distance myself from the characters. As an incentive, I will randomly choose a reviewer to have a character play a minor part in the story.**

**Also, the dialogue has given me some trouble, as I don't want it to sound too stilted but wanted to preserve the formal speaking established by Mercedes Lackey. Tips are appreciated. **


	2. Day One

New Wings

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Two: Day One

Mayat shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waited anxiously with Aryet-ke. There was a long line in front of the main building of the Jousters Compound full of boys wanting to be made into Jousters, and Aryet and she were in the mid-section. Each of her worries was like a butterfly in her stomach; she didn't have experience in animals, another girl might have made it to the front of the line, no one would be kind to her, she would have to sleep with the Dragon Boys, on and on her worries went.

Aryet finally grew tired of her constant shifting and nervous glances and hissed, "Mayat, quit fidgeting; either they will accept you or not. Worrying about their decision isn't going to change it, and you're beginning to annoy me."

"Pragmatic as always, brother mine." Mayat gave her brother a small smile. It was good that Aryet was trying to calm her down, but she didn't have his "live and let live" attitude. Besides, Aryet had assisted in training falcons in Alta, and therefore had experience that would make him look desirable in the eyes of the judges.

Just as she was mulling this over, yet another boy was turned away. Mayat shivered as the boys still in line jeered and made cat calls at the rejected lad. Whatever happened, she did not want to be discarded like that. The reaction of the crowd was very telling; as she looked around she could see boys in groups mock fighting, cleaning their nostrils, and exchanging insults. _These are going to be my companions for at least the next year._ She thought with trepidation. Perhaps she had been spoiled with a brother like Aryet-ke; while he was a boy, and therefore had his moments of behavior with questionable motives, he was no where near as vulgar as some of these boys. While the younger crowd were simply acting annoying, the older boys were telling each other tales that made Mayat's cheeks flush.

She was already making a bit of a stir. While she had taken a page out of Lady Aket-ten's book and cut her hair at her chin and had put on only the barest amount of kohl, the fact that she was taller than most of the young boys here, and a good portion of the older ones too, drew attention to herself. And while her haircut was similar to many of the boys here, she was wearing a plain tunic similar, again, to one she had seen Lady Aket-ten wearing, instead of the linen kilt the others were wearing. While Mayat could not see any tunics from where she was standing, she couldn't guarantee that no other girl was in front of her.

She was vaguely surprised to see a few Akkadian boys in line. One of them, slightly taller than her with curly brown hair and blue eyes, turned to his friend and happened to catch her eye for a moment. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, before Mayat broke eye contact and looked at the ground, her cheeks burning.

She chided herself. _Some of these boys probably expect me to hop in bed with them at the first opportunity. _She thought angrily. _Overseer Haraket does, in any case, and he's the one who I must impress. _ She had heard stories from her father about how Overseer Haraket would tolerate no fooling around between the Jousters and the Queen's Wing, and was strict even on how the Jousters spent their time with the servants. Girls had been thrown out of the compound for much less than a hurried kiss behind closed doors.

She almost gave an actual sigh of relief when Aryet-ke and she reached the front of the line. Concentrating on making a good impression on the judges distracted her from her thoughts. She nervously smoothed the front of her tunic as Aryet-ke stepped forward, presenting a sheet of papyrus with their father's written consent. After a few, quick questions, Aryet was ushered into the Compound after he revealed the fact that he had trained falcons.

He was sent to the left, toward the group of younger boys. This realization that she would be separated from her brother brought a wave of panic that she squashed, with much effort, by the call of "Next!"

She stepped forward, hesitantly. The large man behind the table was none other than Overseer Haraket, and he did not look happy to see her. "I suppose _you_ are the lass who believes herself entitled to become a Jouster, hmm?" He said, with a look that told her just what he thought of Lady Jousters.

_Calm yourself Mayat, you were expecting opposition of this kind. Act confident, look him in the eye. Pretend you are a great noblewoman, who has every right to be here. _She took a moment to compose herself before surprising herself by saying steadily, "That is correct," and passed him the paper with her father's permission.

Overseer Haraket glanced at the sheet before fixing her with a stare that made her feel like a mouse in the talons of a hawk. "And what makes you believe you can do your job any better than these boys can?" He said, gesturing toward the rest of the line.

Mayat caught herself and thought for a moment. She quickly entertained the notion of elaborating how much she helped Wingleader Kiron in Sanctuary, but one look at Haraket made her dismiss that notion entirely. Something told her that Haraket would not be fooled, and lying would put her in a worse position than before. She opted for the truth.

"To be honest, I don't believe I can," Mayat said. This caught Haraket by surprise, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Then why should I accept you?" He said, already starting to hand the papyrus back to her.

"Because, m'lord," She said, stopping him. "I am willing to do whatever it takes to become a Jouster." That wasn't _quite_ true, but close enough. "I want this the most, and will do whatever work is required of me to succeed." Again, probably not true, but at least she had his attention.

Haraket gave her a look of appraisal. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen, sir."

"Do you have any experience with animals?"

"None, sir, but the time I spent in Sanctuary watching the older Jousters groom their dragons. But I am not afraid, sir, of the dragons."

"That does count for quite a bit." Haraket mused looking over her paper carefully. While he did not seem displeased with her, Mayat knew she was not out of danger yet. He looked up at her, "You do realize you will be staying in rough housing. Your dainty lady may not come out looking like a nobles, and you will not be staying in a manor house." He looked at her expectantly.

Recognizing the doubt in his face, Mayat mustered as much dignity as she could as she showed her palms. "I have not had dainty lady hands for quite some time, and if I cannot handle a little sand I should be ashamed to call myself Altian." Seeing the impression she was making, Mayat pushed ahead. "Furthermore, sir, I have been living in Aerie for two seasons now, and before that I had lived in Sanctuary for six moons."

Haraket spent a few more agonizing moments looking her over, then glanced to his side at a man that, Mayat recognized with a start, was none other than Lord Kiron. Whatever signal Lord Kiron gave to the Overseer, it apparently was positive. "You may step to the right. Next!"

Mayat walked forward, hoping her relief wasn't as apparent on her face as she believed it to be. She noticed Aryet-ke giving her a triumphant look before turning towards the older boys that were apparently in her group. After a few more awkward minutes deliberately not catching the eye of any of the boys and ignoring the fact that the boys had grouped apart from her and were leaving her off to the side, the line of boys ended, the last few being turned away without Haraket even looking at their papers.

"There is no more room!" He barked. "Maybe if you hadn't slept in so long, you would have been chosen." Seeing the mutinous glare of one boy, he shouted, "Keep that up, Ket-noh, and there will be no next time!" The boy blanched and scurried off.

Mayat couldn't be happier with the action; while she kept a mask of serenity on the outside, inside she was feeling a tumult of emotions, chief of which was fear. Yes, she had gained permission to become a Jouster, but that was only her first hurdle. Next, she would have to survive a season of caring for a dragon on the off chance that they _might_ give her an egg. And if the attitude of the other boys around her was any indication, her road was not going to be made smoother by any of them.

_I was hoping to find at least one ally. _She thought glumly. _I had counted on at least Aryet-ke for company. _She stared across the courtyard to see her brother laughing and talking animatedly with boys in his age group. Mayat supposed that she should have seen this coming; after all, even if the Jousters were desperate, no one would condone anyone under fourteen flying in combat, and even that would earn a few stern looks from the priests. _I will just have to learn to do without company._ She thought with dread. Enduring a year in isolation was going to be difficult for a gregarious extrovert like Mayat.

Luckily, again, her thoughts were interrupted by the dubious blessing of Harket's brusqueness. Haraket gestured toward the younger boys and shouted, "Dragon Boys, follow me!" and led them off towards another end of the Compound. Mayat gave her younger brother one regretful wave before Lord Kiron commanded her attention with a quieter, but no less authoritative, call of, "Dragon Boys, this way."

Mayat stood in place as the boys followed and waited for instructions of her own. Lord Kiron noticed her standing in place and raised an eyebrow. "Having second thoughts?" He said.

"I thought-" Mayat looked confused before realizing belatedly that whenever anyone said "Dragon Boys", she was now part of that group. After all, it didn't make sense to say "Dragon Boys and Girl". "Not at all." She said and hurried after the boys, her cheeks burning with shame.

There were a few jeers as she entered late and sat down at the back of the room, but Lord Kiron soon took their attention off of her.

"Welcome, prospective Jousters." Lord Kiron said, his quiet air of authority commanding the respect of every person there. "I assume you have all seen what these dragons can do, and you desire the bond shared between the Jousters trained in this new fashion and their dragons. However, I must make you understand the amount of work that is demanded by this new style of training." Here, he paused and looked each of the sixteen people seated in the eye, including Mayat. She looked back solemnly, hoping he couldn't see her nervousness, before continuing.

"In the old style, the Jousters merely were handed their dragons, ready to fly combat, after training on for several moons. Jousters and their dragons did not care for each other, and a dragon would accept any rider and a Jouster could fly any dragon. As you all recall, however, this was only achieved through large amounts of _tala _and a certain amount of danger to those in close proximity to the dragons. This new method of training creates a tame dragon that bonds to only one person, and is far more intelligent and is capable of so much more. There is a trade off, though. Because the dragon will only bond to one rider, for the first weeks of development, _you_ will need to do all the work for the baby dragon. All the tasks that could once be given to a Dragon Boy will be your responsibilities. You will get the food, clean the pen, provide mental stimulation, sand and oil your dragonet, et cetera."

Mayat looked around to see a few mutterings. Lord Kiron surveyed the group. "If this seems difficult, it is only the beginning. Once the dragonet is old enough, you will need to train daily to fly in wings, and it will be difficult. There will be injuries. That is, assuming you earn yourself an egg. I am not telling you this to frighten you off, only to impress upon you the task you are about to undertake. If anyone does not feel up to it, you may leave with no shame."

There was a bit of shuffling as everyone looked around to see who would be coward enough to stand up and leave, but anyone who felt like leaving was certainly not going to admit it in front of all these people. Mayat thought she saw Lord Kiron give her a long look, but she remained firmly planted on the ground. It was starting to dawn on her that this was going to be her entire life, her work, her pain, her joy, everything. Her resolve strengthened though; if anything was going to take all of her devotion and time, it certainly was not going to be housekeeping.

When no one made a move to leave, Lord Kiron spoke, "Alright then, I shall now outline your duties and life style for the immediate future. You will be assigned an adult dragon to act as a Dragon Boy-" he glanced at Mayat, "or Girl for and will care for them. Their Jousters take care of hunting for the midday meal, but you will provide the morning and evening meal. You will also clean their pens, give them sand baths and oilings, and learn the basics of caring for an adult dragon, such as reading body language and so forth. This will complement your other duties. When six moons are up, you shall assist in the training of a fledgling, which shall replace the duties to the older dragon." Kiron surveyed the group one last time before saying, "I believe that covers it. If you remain after a season, you are old enough to immediately receive a dragon egg. If you will stand up-" the candidates got to their feet, "And follow me, Wingleader Ganek-at-kal-te-ronet will show you around the Compound and show you your duties."

Lord Kiron handed the group over to another Altan who looked infinitely less intimidating. Wingleader Ganek-at-kal-te-ronet was tall, handsome, and smiling at the assembled persons. "I must say Kiron, I do believe you have frightened them even more thoroughly than Haraket." He said languidly.

"They are your responsibility now." Lord Kiron said with a smile. "I have some complaints to deal with."

"And I wish you the best of them." Wingleader Ganek-at-kal-te-ronet said with a smirk. Lord Kiron left before he turned his attention back to the group. "You may call me Your Worshipfulness, or Mighty Wingleader, or Fearless Commander. Or, if you wish to be perfectly boring, Wingleader Gan will do." His easy smile invited the group to share in the joke, and there was a bit of laughter.

"If you would follow me, I shall introduce you to your duties, as I am sure you wish to make their acquaintance as quickly as possible." Now there was a fair bit of laughter, and Wingleader Gan beckoned the group forward.

As Wingleader Gan led the group down the winding streets of the Jousters Compound, Mayat distracted herself from the cold reception she received from the boys and concentrated on the elaborate façades of the buildings. She could make out a few carvings of stylized gods; a Haras falcon here, a ram of Siris there. The buildings looked a little better than the homes in her neighborhood, but she knew from experience that they all were the same in the interior; three or two storied dwellings carved into the rock of the canyon, high ceilings, smooth walls, and, in the case of the Jousters, a bottom floor taken up by a sand pit. Most of the wide gates at street level were closed, but a few were open, revealing sleeping dragons or Jousters giving their charges a sand bath.

Presently, the group arrived at a closed door. Just from the chill and faint smell of meat surrounding the building, she knew this must be the butchery. Wingleader Gan turned to the followers and gestured at the closed door. "This is the butchery. Most Jousters have patrols that will take them away for their midday meal, but morning and evening feeds are your responsibility. Sacrificed bulls would be flown in by greenies, the Jousters who weren't ready to fly combat yet, from Sanctuary every day for flying practice. Meat is stored in here until it is needed." Walking over to a row of barrows, Wingleader Gan demonstrated how one should lift the barrow. Pointing at a mark, he said, "Most of the time you should fill the barrow to about here, but it will be up to you to decide whether the dragon needs more or less."

Opening the gate, a rush of cold air hit the group, making most of the group shiver, Mayat included. The Wingleader stepped in and pulled a bull carcass to a position where the group could see it and demonstrated how to carve up the meat. "We don't have any servants here, so you need to cut up your own meat." Straining to push the knife through the frozen meat, he said, "You need to get here early enough to cut up the meat, leave it out in the sun to thaw for a bit, and be at your dragon's pen by the time they wake-up."

Passing the knife to another boy, he directed a few others to help him fill the barrow. When he deemed the barrow filled enough, he took the handles and gestured for the group to follow him. "This way." Wingleader Gan said.

He led them down another avenue before stopping at a house. As Mayat peered into the house, she could see a solid green dragon lounging in the sand before perking up at the sight of Gan. "This fellow is Khaleph. Treat him with the same respect as me, but don't let him grow too big an ego." Khaleph snorted, as if he thought his rider should be worried about his own ego.

The dragon picked up self out of the sand and pounced on the barrow and began eating with much gusto. It made Mayat vaguely ill, but Wingleader Gan laughed and said, "Slow down, or you'll have them believe I'm starving you!" Khaleph gave Gan a look and snorted again, but began eating a bit slower.

When the meat was a fading memory, Khaleph sighed and picked his way back into his corner and buried himself in the sand, proceeding to fall asleep. Wingleader Gan looked at the group, "Most of the dragons will eat and go to sleep, which is why you should give them a sand bath before you feed them. The Jouster you will be apprenticed under will show you how to give a sand bath and oiling, along with how to harness them."

"I shall now give you a tour of the Compound. When you are not caring for the needs of your dragon, your duties will encompass whatever needs to be done in the Compound. We don't have any servants, so it will mostly be you Dragon Boys who will be working in the kitchen, repairing harnesses, sweeping the Landing Court, working in the spice fields that provide the income of the Jousters, and, well, whatever else Haraket thinks of to make you do."

Gan led the group down an alley as he continued to talk. "In the mornings, you will wake up, get your dragon his or her morning feed, harness them, and see your Jouster off before breaking your own fast. After you finish eating, Haraket will be waiting in the Dining Hall to give you your duties for the morning. After you finish, you eat a midday meal and might see your Jouster return. If that is the case, you will need to see to the needs of your dragon in the form of a midday meal and sand bath." Wingleader Gan fixed the group with a look before saying, "This is not the old style of Jousting. You are not obligated to care for the whims of your Jouster. If it does not impede on your duties, you may assist, otherwise you should report bossy Jousters to Haraket or another Wingleader."

"In the afternoon, you should see Haraket for more duties before unharnessing your dragon, giving them a sand bath, and seeing to their evening meal. When your dragon is all taken care of, you may go and get your own food. Dragon Boys are given an afternoon off a sennight, in a rotation so that all our Dragon Boys don't disappear at once. You may accept small stipends in return for errands, but you will not be actively paid."

After the tour, Gan led the group to the Landing Court. Mayat shaded her eyes to look up and see the myriad of colors belonging to the dragons sunning themselves on the cliffs. A look reminded her why she was here, and she needed to remember why she would be subjecting herself to a season of hard work with people who did not want her there. One look at the vibrant shades of the dragons was enough to make her willing to put ten times the effort if it would get her closer to having a dragon of her own.

At a gesture from Wingleader Gan, a large group of Jousters stepped forward. "It is almost time for the evening meal. These Jousters' dragons are currently sunning themselves, but will be coming here at the call of their riders. These Jousters will choose one of you to be their Dragon Boy, and then introduce you to your charge."

Mayat looked at the group in trepidation. They were muttering among themselves, pointing at various boys, playing rock, _kamiseen_, and sword to decide who would get the oldest and strongest, and a fair few were openly glaring at her. She swallowed with difficulty. What if her dream to become a Jouster ended here? What if no one chose her?

Wingleader Gan gestured, and the Jousters stepped forward.

**Author's Note: Hey hey hey, everybody! Hope this chapter was worth the wait; finals took up a lot of my time, and then I was uber busy last week. I finished re-reading ****Aerie****, so I updated a few things in my last chapter. For instance, I found out that the actual apprenticeship time was six months with an adult dragon and six months with a nestling, instead of the four months I had written. I also adjusted Mayat and Aryet-ke's ages, as I read that ****Aerie**** takes place two years after ****Sanctuary****, and a reviewer noted that Mayat's actions would make a lot more sense if Aryet was younger, so she would feel more protective of him. I think I also added in details about the fight between the Jousters and the Hekysin. **

**Also, I'm a little worried about this chapter being too much prose, so sorry about that. I am leaving this Saturday on vacation, so hopefully I will get a chapter up when I get back and before I leave on another adventure. So, expect an update (hopefully) around July 1. **

**Muchas gracias to my reviewers, Hannahtheplante, lynn, The Celestial, and hoa1337. Keep reviewing people; I can't fix something if no one brings it up, and even if it's sheer flattery, hey, I'm cool with that ;) This is the last chapter I will be taking reviewers names on before randomly choosing one to base a character on, so click the special button at the bottom of your screen, type something up, and you might win a grand prize!!**


	3. Chosen

New Wings

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Three: Chosen

Almost immediately Mayat began seeing a pattern. The tallest and strongest looking were chosen immediately, without even looking at the lists to see who was qualified or had worked with animals before. Only then were the charts examined. _Maybe they are worried about turning out another Kiron. _Mayat thought cynically. _Arrogant as they are, the thought of being shown up by their Dragon Boy would be a fatal blow to them. _She also noticed that Altan Jousters chose Altan Dragon Boys, and the Tians were doing the same. Mayat shook her head. No matter how hard Great King Ari-en-anethet and Great Queen Nofret-te-en worked, it would be a while before the two peoples would unbend enough to call themselves "Altian".

Soon, the last weedy looking Tian boy was snagged by an even weedier- looking Tian Jouster, leaving Mayat and the Akkadians. Mayat resisted the urge to chew on her fingernails and settled for twisting her hands nervously behind her back. The remaining Jousters huddled together and murmured for a few moments, looking up occasionally and gesticulating at various boys before the tall Akkadian who had smiled at her earlier was chosen first by a slim Altan, and the next tallest by a brawny Tian. After a bit of discussion, the last Akkadian boy, a lad shorter than Mayat with hardly any muscle tone, was taken by a disgruntled Altan. Mayat felt utterly alone and very, very awkward standing up in front of a pack of Jousters. Biting her lip, she hoped she wasn't blushing as red as she felt. To her chagrin, she felt tears pricking her eyes.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, _she thought desperately, trying to will the tears from flowing. Crying in front of these men would be a one-way ticket out of here. Desperately, she looked from Jouster to Jouster, praying that one of them would take pity on her and choose. But, apparently, the prospect of having a _girl_ as their assistant was worse than no assistant at all.

Wingleader Gan frowned and stepped forward. "Come men, surely someone needs a Dragon Girl? Jasket, you were just telling me the other day how much you needed a second pair of hands with Kithret." The Jouster in question just shook his head and looked away. Every person that Gan looked at either shook his head or avoided eye contact. "Now see here-" Wingleader Gan began, before being interrupted by a loud voice from the back.

"I'll take her." The crowd slowly moved aside as a Jouster pushed his way to the front. Mayat looked at him with mingled relief and uncertainty. He looked Altan, with the slightly paler skin of her kinspeople, with a high forehead and nose like a hawk's beak. He wore that unconscious air of superiority that most nobles carried. Brown eyes were outlined in kohl, which most Jousters had, but it was well-applied, indicating that he had a servant to put it on for him rather than applying it himself.

"Jouster Akhom-ba-kari, are you certain?" Wingleader Gan seemed a bit reluctant for some reason. Mayat was just glad that someone chose her. She had to bite her tongue to avoid breaking into a huge grin on the spot.

"Oh yes, absolutely. Kemnebi is feeling a bit temperamental at the moment, and I believe it would be best to have an assistant who is agile enough to stay out of the way." Mayat felt the urge to grin slowly leave her. Now that she could hear his voice, she could make out a subtle underlay of patronization in his tone. As she looked at the crowd she could seem them whispering to each other and hiding smiles, and she saw coins pass hands once or twice.

"If no one else will take her…" Wingleader Gan looked at the group of Jousters once more before nodding. "Dragon Girl Mayat, go stand by your mentor, Jouster Akhom-ba-kari."

Mayat had to will her feet to move toward the Jouster and stand beside him, wishing that she had the power to turn invisible or sink into the stones. Her heart was pounding so fast and loud she was certain her "savior" could hear every beat.

Before she could spiral too far into angst, Wingleader Gan began to address the group. "Those of you with apprentices can take them back to your pens and begin instructing them in harnessing and unharnessing their new charge. When they can do it well enough to your satisfaction, you may go to dinner. Those of you without a Dragon Boy can go straight to the Mess Hall if you've already given a sand bath to your dragons. You are dismissed."

"Yes Wingleader." The Jousters said in unison before giving a salute of right fist over left shoulder. Mayat turned to see Jouster Akhom-ba-kari walking off without her, his long strides taking him away from her at a rapid pace.

"Jouster!" She called. "Jouster, wait." She pushed through the crowd to get to him, a task made harder by the fact that the Jousters were shoving her out of their way as well, and elbows and feet seemed to be magically attracted to her. When she finally caught up to him she asked, "Where is your dragon's pen, Jouster Akhom?"

"Firstly , it is Jouster Akhom-ba-kari, never just Akhom-ba-kari or Akhom. In Alta you would have been dirt under my feet, and you will not forget it. Do I make myself clear?" Jouster Akhom-ba-kari fixed her with a glare.

Mayat restrained herself from pointing out that they were not in Alta, and would probably never be there again, but replied with a simple, "Yes, sir." Meekness didn't need to be feigned in this situation, and the path of least resistance seemed like a smart move.

"Good. Now, girl, if you heard correctly, _Wingleader_," He said the title with a disgust that told her how much he hated having to take commands from the teenager. "Gan said that those without Dragon Boys could go straight to the Mess Hall. I have no Dragon _Boy_, so I am going to my meal. If you have any sense, you will find your way either to Kemnebi's pen or to the door." The Jouster stopped and looked down his long nose at her. "If you are seriously considering continuing with this little – charade- of yours, I suggest you learn how to properly harness and unharness a dragon this evening before tomorrow morning or I will report what a slacker you are to Haraket and have you thrown out." Mayat gulped. So much for her "savior". Jouster Akhom-ba-kari looked at the sky before continuing. "I would hurry if I were you; Kemnebi hates to be woken up after he's settled down."

Mayat stared as the Jouster merged with the crowd heading to the dining hall, in shock, until a rough shove from behind startled her out of it. "Move, idiot girl!" The Jouster snapped.

"Sorry, sir." Mayat stammered, before turning and fighting her way out of the crowd and toward the sidelines of the herd. When the stragglers were a distant memory, she fought down the tears she felt rising again. Annoyed with herself, Mayat pinched the skin between her thump and forefinger. The pain brought her back to her senses as she turned to find someone to ask for directions.

Spotting a Jouster exiting a pen with his Dragon Boy, Mayat rushed over. "Excuse me, Jouster, but could you tell me where Jouster Akhom-ba-kari's dragon Kemnebi is?"

The Jouster looked over at his apprentice and said, "Dakarai, I hope you never loose Haru-no-ishra, will you?"

"No sir." The Dragon Boy grinned at Mayat's stupidity. "I think I would have to be rather thick-headed to lose something as large as a dragon."

_Nice choice of words there, Mayat. _She scolded herself as the pair laughed and pushed past her. As their chuckles faded down the avenue, Mayat closed her eyes and counted to ten before walking off to another Jouster.

After two more attempts at finding directions, a servant passing by finally took pity on her and called her over. "Take the first avenue on the left. Kemnebi's pen is about halfway down the lane in the house with a panther carved over the door."

"Thank you sir, a thousand blessings!" Mayat said gratefully before rushing off the way he pointed.

She turned down the lane and scanned the houses for the carving. Presently, she arrived at a residence that, sure enough, had a stylized panther over the door. She peered into the pen and took a hesitant step forward. She squinted into the dark to try and see where the dragon was. She took a few more steps forward and called. "Kemnebi?"

A low hissing sound was the only warning Mayat got before a large _thing_ emerged from the pen and lunged for her. Mayat shrieked and fell backward before scrambling to get away. She got an impression of large, black, and gold before the creature retreated.

Mayat lay motionless, breathing hard for a few moments before attempting to stand. She had another warning hiss before Kemnebi made his second attack. Mayat had the split-second remembrance of Lord Kiron telling Aryet-ke and herself that the tame dragons would never hurt a human until instincts kicked in. With a grunt she swung her foot wide and connected with the lower jaw of the dragon.

With a surprised snort, Kemnebi moved his head back and blinked. And blinked again. Mayat moved her foot back again, fully prepared to kick him again if he showed the slightest movement in her direction. After a tense few moments, The large black and gold head retreated back into the pen, just behind the shadow cast be the sun hitting the door.

Mayat slowly got to her feet. _Just like the street dogs at home…_ She thought. At her old home in Alta, a pack of strays banded together and began to raid and terrorize the children and animals in the markets. That is, until an old, crochety goat stood her ground and actually head-butted the alpha dog into a wall. From then on, the dogs steered clear of the goat's owners and market. _They will push you around until you assert boundaries._ She could remember Lord Kiron saying something to the same effect of one of his old charges, Coresan.

"Easy, easy." She said soothingly as she stepped forward. Keeping her eyes fixed on Kemnebi's, she walked until she was standing just inside the doorway. She kept eye contact with the dragon's saffron-colored eyes as she waited for him to make a move. After several moments, Kemnebi sighed and lay down in the sand, acting like an enormous cat as he picked his way into a comfortable position and laid out his wings on the sand. Mayat stepped forward again, and, after making sure he wasn't going to attack her again, reached out her hand to touch his forehead. The great dragon did nothing more than blink at her once before closing his eyes and sighing. Mayat relaxed as he did and took the time to look at her new charge.

Scales as black as ebony were set off my gold highlighting on the lower jaw, eye ridges, crest, lower legs, and wing tips. Now that he wasn't charging her, and thus fear making him appear larger, she could tell that he wasn't all that large compared to the dragons she had seen before; he was three quarters the size of Khaleph and half the size of Avatre. She supposed he must have been born about two seasons ago, around the founding of Aerie.

Frowning, Mayat drew her hand away and looked at the piece of dead skin between her fingers. Now that she looked carefully, she could see that the shine off Kemnebi's scales was dulled by the presence of a thin layer of grime over his body. Sighing, Mayat took a handful of sand and proceeded to give Kemnebi as good a grooming as she could under the present conditions, considering he wouldn't budge to allow her to sand bathe parts out of her reach. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to enjoy being touched; he certainly wasn't acting as ecstatic as Avatre with the grooming.

When it seemed like Kemnebi had had enough of human contact for the present, Mayat backed off. _What has Jouster Akhom-ba-kari been doing in his spare time?_ Mayat wondered. The only thing she could think of was that he had been slacking on grooming duties in anticipation for a Dragon Boy to do the work for him. _Or…perhaps he's been a part of Kemnebi's life for so long the novelty of having a tame dragon has worn off for him. He is a noble; he's probably not used to commitment._

Whatever the reason, it still meant that she would have a doubly difficult task ahead of her, facing opposition on the human front and draconic. Starting to realize how big this undertaking was going to be, Mayat stood up and leaned against the wall. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed and looked at the tack hung on the wall. She picked it up and examined the pieces with a slight frown on her face. The straps didn't look all that complicated, but what on earth was that bit for? And that there? She turned her attention to the saddle itself, and again was perplexed by the seemingly frivolous parts of the work.

She turned with the saddle in her hands to face Kemnebi. The dragon looked at her with an expression that clearly said, "You'd better have a good reason for making me interrupt my nap."

Unwilling to press her luck with an irate dragon, Mayat sighed and put the tack back on the wall. She looked at the sun that was rapidly descending below the horizon and made the executive decision to put off the whole mess until after dinner. Or the next morning, before Jouster Akhom-ba-kari could yell at her.

Luckily, by the time Mayat found her way to the Mess Hall most of the Jousters had already left, leaving a handful of stragglers and an assortment of Dragon Boys. As Mayat sat down at the end of an occupied table, as far from the muttering group as possible, a servant passed by her and absentmindedly placed a plate of cold meat in front of her. She picked an unopened jar of beer from a place beside her and grabbed a roll from the basket at the center of the table.

Eating silently, she tried to pretend like the uncomfortable silence directed at her didn't bother her in any way. The way the Dragon Boys were looking at her put in her mind the image of a group of lions picking off a stray calf. She tried to eat as quickly as possible without looking like she was purposely rushing to be away from them. That would only encourage whatever dastardly deed they had planned for her. _I hope it's nothing worse than a pot of honey in the hair, _She thought miserably. _I'm having enough trouble dealing with the silent treatment. _

Mayat found that her appetite seemed to dry up and poked her meat for a few more minutes before abandoning the enterprise altogether and getting up to exit the Mess Hall. As she was leaving, her foot caught the table leg. With a cry, she tripped and fell, grabbing the table to stop herself. She pulled herself back to her feet, her knee aching where she hit it on the stone floor and her face burning. She left as the laughter of the hall followed her out.

It was all she could do not to run back to Kemnebi's pen and cry. As such, she walked quickly as she tried to muffle the sobs threatening to break from her throat. _Did I really think I could change centuries of tradition on a whim? Who am I to try and become a fighter? Maybe I should just go back to helping Father translate scrolls and let another, stronger girl take on the Jousters. _

With this thought in mind, Mayat entered Kemnebi's pen before she realized that someone else was there. A figure was kneeling by the dragon with one hand a few inches above his head. After a surprised pause, Mayat said, "Excuse me, may I help you in any way?"

The figure turned toward her, then stood up. When her face was cast into the light, Mayat could see it was the Lady Jouster who had told her of the position. "You are Mayat, then?"

Caught off guard by her abruptness, Mayat responded a little harsher than she intended to. "Yes, and you are?"

Unfazed, the woman replied, "Wingleader of the Queen's Wing, Lady Jouster Aket-ten." Thank goodness it was dark, otherwise Mayat's shock would have been plain to see. As such, Lady Aket-ten continued without pause. "I see you have already made quite an impression with the Compound, and Kemnebi. I knew I made a wise choice with you." Aket-ten seemed very smug about the fact. "How do you feel?"

Mayat knew what she wanted to say, but any of her troubles would sound like complaining even to herself. After a few moments thought, she spoke, "Nervous." After a pause she continued. "My Jouster had to hurry off for an important assignment and was unable to show me how to put on the harness. He told me he would return to demonstrate after supper, but I suppose it has taken him longer than he thought. If you could…" Jouster Akhom-ba-kari certainly didn't deserve the cover-up, but it would ultimately be worse for Mayat if he thought she had tattled on him.

"Of course! Men have no sense of time management, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had forgotten all about you." Lady Aket-ten motioned at Kemnebi, and with a sigh, the dragon picked himself out of the sand. With surprising agility, the Lady Jouster picked the tack off the wall and threw it over his back.

Lady Aket-ten proceeded to give Mayat a lesson in dragons in general, not just how to put on the saddle. In fact, Mayat apparently had done something right when she met Kemnebi without even knowing it. "Kemnebi has a reputation for snippiness and has snapped at a few people before. Of course, none of the tame dragons would harm a human, but this fellow is a born alpha dragon, and in a flock in the wild, would have been at the top of the chain of command. It's a good thing you put him in his place at your first meeting or else I would not have been surprised if you had quit after a sennight. You did the right thing, though, keeping eye contact until he submitted, and then grooming afterward. You will not be able to make him do anything he _really _does not want to, but if you make it seem easier, and in his best interest, to follow you, you should not have a problem."

"Except for the other Dragon Boys." Mayat muttered. Lady Aket-ten must have heard her, for she replied.

"My advice is to stay out of their way as much as possible until they accept that you are not going to leave soon. I have been around my bother Orest's friends, and I know they can match a girl in passive-aggressiveness and may physically try to force you to leave." Lady Aket-ten pulled a strap tight as she continued. "Stay in or around Kemnebi's pen when you are not actively doing something. Load up your food barrel earlier than the others and be gone by the time they reach the butchers. I have arranged for you to use a servant's quarters in the temple of Pashet from sundown to sunup. Priests hate idleness, so do not be in your room until you need to. I think you will find running around after dragons and Jousters will be hard enough work that you will not need to stay out late."

After watching Mayat cinch a strap tight and complete the job of saddling, Aket-ten spoke again. "Mayat, this is important. You _must_ complete this apprenticeship and become a Lady Jouster. Once your nestling fledges I will bring you to Mefis to join the Queen's Wing, but until then the Compound _must_ see you working hard and succeeding. Your actions will set the pattern for the next generation of girls who with to become Jousters."

_No pressure._ Mayat thought gloomily. Out loud, she said, "I will do my best, Lady Aket-ten."

"May the gods grant that it is enough," She said simply. "I cannot ask more than that. I will try to help you in whatever ways I can, but my duties may not allow me the opportunity, and the success you achieve must be seen as _your_ doing."

Mayat nodded and began unharnessing Kemnebi. After removing the saddle, the dragon snorted and proceeded to bury himself in the sand pit. In silence, Mayat placed the saddle back on the wall. She turned and bowed to the Lady Jouster. "I hope you faith is well-placed."

"As do I. Good-night, Dragon Girl Mayat." Lady Aket-ten nodded in her direction before stepping outside the pen. Mayat listened to her echoing footsteps before sliding down the wall. She leaned forward and rested her shin on her knees.

_Haras grant me strength. _

**Author's Note: I am so, so, so sorry for the delay in this chapter, but my beast of procrastination reared it's ugly head. I hope I didn't bash Mayat too much, but I didn't want to go easy on her, but I also didn't want to make it into a Mary-Sue-esque, "everyone hated her, and bullied her, but Super Sue knew that one day she would show them all and become the Dragon Warrior, for it was her destiny!" Tell me if I succeeded, please? K thnx! **

**Hannahtheplante is the awesome reviewer who gets the grand prize of a minor role in the story! *triumphant music* So, you lucky reader you, in your next review give me your character information; name, age, appearance, Altan or Tian (or another nationality altogether), occupation, etc. Congratulations!**

**For the rest of you in the peanut gallery, thanks for the reviews, or conversely, for those who haven't written one, spend thirty seconds of your time giving meaning to a under-appreciated artiste! **

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	4. Assistance

New Wings:

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Four: Assistance

Mayat woke up the next morning to a pounding headache and a novice shaking her awake. "Bwuh?" She looked up from her pallet, her hair in disarray from sleeping on the Altan-style pillow rather than the neck rest the Tians preferred. She squinted in the darkness in the general direction the person stood.

"Wake up, milady, dawn rites begin soon, and Lady Aket-ten told me to make sure you are out of the temple so as to not disturb the priests," came the whispered reply. Mayat suppressed a groan; when allowed, she would sleep in until noon, but she definitely did not want to draw the ire of her hosts. At least they had had the good taste to allow a girl to awaken her. "Lady Aket-ten also wanted me to make sure you got up early enough to beat most of the boys to the butcher's and have enough time to practice saddling." The girl sounded anxious to make sure her job was completed.

"Thank you for waking me up," Mayat managed to act suitably perky, so after a moment of indecision, the novice left her. Mayat groaned and stretched, sorely tempted to flop back down on the pillow and sleep the day away, but the thought of Jouster Akhom-ba-kari's self-satisfied smirk gave her the will she needed to pull herself to her feet.

Luckily, months of living in Aerie had gotten her used to getting dressed solely on touch, as the only source of light in her room was whatever filtered in through the thin windows near the ceiling, and the sun was not even peering over the horizon. Mayat dressed in a linen kilt automatically, pulled a comb through her hair, and applied a rim of kohl around her eyes. She would have thought that the Jousters would forego even the most basic of make-ups, but from listening to Jousters in the inn with her brother she found that the black paint helped improve vision in the desert.

Still yawning and not fully awake, Mayat stepped into her sandals before walking out her door and into the temple proper. She managed to avoid any priests and stepped into the street. Looking around, Mayat encountered the first problem of the day. Everything looked very different in the dark, and she was not altogether sure where the cold room was. If she could get there, she would be able to find her way to Kemnebi's pen, but besides that…

Hearing voices behind her, she jumped into the shadows cast by the carvings on the temple walls. Peering around the statue of a cat-headed goddess (presumably Pashet), she saw two boys walking down the street. Now that her eyes were adjusted to the darkness, she made out the figures of two boys. From the height, she could see one of them was the Akkadian she had seen yesterday, and his shorter, but much slimmer companion was the weedy Tian boy who had been the last non-Akkadian chosen yesterday. They were arguing loudly, though it may have just seemed loud because the only other people on the streets were the servants.

"You don't like getting up early any more than I do, Anteros. We could have gotten up with the rest of the Dragon Boys and 'borrowed' some meat from the others." The Tian whined.

"And put myself on the line, _again_, to get you out of trouble? Not going to happen, Jahil-ja-bar. Until you build up enough muscles to be able to cut your own meat in a decent amount of time, I am going to get you up early and we are going to fill our barrows before everyone else." Anteros said.

"I am not _that_ weak Anteros, and I object to you automatically treating me like I'm a child." Jahil-ja-bar said.

"I'll stop treating you like a child when you stop saying things that make everyone around you make strangling motions in your direction." Anteros said wryly.

"All I said was that it makes more logistical sense to have the largest boys sleep near the door to stop the drafts."

"Honestly Jahil, if you weren't my best friend I probably would have punched you as well."

"Which is exactly what I mean. The more imposing boys should sleep near the door so scorpions and snakes won't-"

"See, that is the sort of thing that got you thrown out of your temple in the first place."

The weedy Tian sniffed. "Please, I had far out-grown them. My ideas were perfectly logical and they were just being plain daft."

"And stringing up that bucket of water to hit the Head Priest on the back of the head was just honey on the flatbread. If you did not have the Gift of Animal Speech, you would not even be here."

Mayat had to stuff her knuckle in her mouth to stop from laughing at the two's bickering. _Oh, I'm glad I'm not in that one's barrack. _Since they were clearly heading to the butcher's she made the executive decision to follow them, so before they rounded the corner she stepped out from her corner and followed the boys to the cold room.

When the cold room was reached, Mayat faced the next dilemma of the day: should she wait until the boys left with their first load, and possibly face the larger group of boys when she took her meat to Kemnebi, or face the two on her own? The two seemed friendly enough, but she hadn't seen how they would react to her. She didn't feel like enduring rude stares or swinging cow carcasses pushed in her direction.

She had forgotten about what Wingleader Gan had said about leaving the body out to thaw before starting to cut the meat, so her situation was resolved when the two boys each took half a bull carcass (Anteros carrying it with much more ease than Jahil-ja-bar) and placing one in each barrow before waiting for it to thaw. While she was debating about the likelihood of them noticing her if she tried to carry a dead cow in a barrow behind their backs, another pair of Dragon Boys came up the path. While they exchanged greetings with Anteros, they ostentatiously did not speak to Jahil-ja-bar.

While they stood around and talked, the vague lightening of the horizon goaded Mayat into action. _I'll just walk forward, with determination, and dignity, and calmness, and ignore them. _After a few false starts, she began striding across the street, trying to act composed. However, the closer she got to the boys the shorter and quicker her steps became. She looked down and avoided the gaze of the boys, as they shot glares in her direction.

The frigid cold room stung her eyes, making her aware of the tiny bit of moisture outlining her eyes. _Oh don't cry, Mayat, you'll only make things worse. Come on, you've got to make yourself numb to all that._ She told herself over and over as she cut down half a carcass.

She wasn't ready for the weight, so she didn't catch the meat so much as act like a cushion for it when it dropped. _At least all the blood froze so you don't have redness all down your front._ The unhelpful voice in the back of her head pointed out. Ignoring the louder guffaws of the onlookers, she began dragging the meat toward and door. _Stupid weak little girl arms._ She thought angrily.

"Here let me help you with that." She looked up to see Anteros picking up the other end of meat and sling it over shoulder, pulling the feet out of her grip. He carried it out the door, with her following feeling very much like a duckling as he dumped it into the waiting barrow. "Are you going to need any help cutting that?" He asked.

Flushing, Mayat stammered, "N-no I'm fine, thanks very much, I used to carve wood and-" A moment later she realized she was babbling and finished lamely. "No, that's fine."

"Okay, just tell me if you need any help." Mayat kept her eyes on the ground as he walked away to rejoin the other boys.

Sighing, she picked up a knife and began sawing away at the meat. By the time she reached the inner organs, the meat should be thawed enough to cut through. Soon, her arms were covered in blood and entrails up to her elbows and Mayat was fighting the strong urge to retch. She looked away for a few moments and made gagging faces facing away from the boys.

"Going to throw up, princess?" One of the boys shouted mockingly.

She forced her face into a pleasant expression and turned to say, "No, just, looking at-" She searched for something to point out in the direction she had been facing. "That boulder. That is a nice boulder." She gave them an unconvincing smile and turned back to her barrow while the boys repeated her remark in various tones of scorn.

Breathing in through her mouth as much as possible, Mayat finished cutting the meat, filling the barrow to a little over the mark, and looked for a place to brush the blood off her hands. Spotting one of the boy's cast-aside mantles, near the entrance, she briefly toyed with idea of going over there and wiping off her arms on his cloak, but decided she was not _that_ confident. She settled for scraping off the worst of the muck against the sides of the barrow.

With a grunt, she lifted the barrow experimentally to find that although the chopped up meat meant that the weight was distributed over a wide area, it still meant that half a cow was sitting at the bottom of the barrow. With effort, she managed to get it moving, but with only one wheel it was very precarious. While passing the boys, in her hurry to get away she lost her balance on one side and almost dropped the barrow.

A steadying hand reached out to grab the side of the barrow before bits of animal splattered across the street. She looked up to see Anteros holding the barrow while she quickly regained control. "Are you sure you can carry this much weight?" He asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, I just need a little assistance every now and again." Mayat said, giving him an uncomfortable half-smile. After a few seconds of awkward silence. Mayat cleared her throat and pushed the barrow forward a little bit. "If you don't mind…"

"Oh, yes." Anteros stepped aside while Mayat ducked past. A few blocks away, her heart began to resume a somewhat regular rhythm.

xxx

In the kitchens, Mayat sighed as she wiped a sweaty strand of hair away from her face before continuing to scrub the pot she was working on. The day had proceeded as well as could be expected up to this point. After a brief panic attack of seeing a hungry dragon bearing down on her, Mayat found the best way to feed Kemnebi was to throw him a few pieces of meat to take the edge off his hunger before approaching with a barrow. Jouster Akhom-ba-kari did not say anything beyond, "Have a jar of date wine ready for me when I get back," which Mayat took a sign that her job of saddling was decent enough to pass muster.

After getting a lesson in rudimentary dragon keeping with the rest of the Dragon Boys (during which she stood toward the back of the group and patiently tried to ignore the fact that everytime the group changed locations there was a mad scramble to push her out of the way and stand at the front of the line), Mayat ate a small meal of flatbread and beer with the rest of the Dragon Boys before afternoon chores were given out. Kitchen duty wasn't that bad a chore, but as she took off toward the kitchens, she heard a few shouts of "Go back to the kitchen where you belong, girl!"

_Face the facts, it is probably the reason you got this assignment. _She took out her anger at the injustice by scrubbing the pot with new vigor.

"If you keep scrubbing like that you will wear hole in the brass soon." Mayat looked up to see an elderly servant woman looking at her from her position sitting at a table across from her, chopping vegetables. "I can assure you that whatever the pot did to deserve such treatment was of no fault by it."

Mayat winced. "Sorry m'lady. I meant no offense to said kettle." She looked down at her work and proceeded with gentler strokes.

"Well said, young miss." The woman nodded and continued cutting vegetables. Mayat looked up to examine the servant. Long gray hair was braided into one long plait and thrown carelessly over one shoulder, but the heat in the kitchen was causing a few strands around her face to escape and curl around her head. There were more lines on her skin than Mayat could count, and sharp hazel eyes were staring determinedly at the cutting board as she chopped roots and tubers with quick, efficient strokes.

Mayat now realized the dire need for more help around here; the old woman was one of only a handful of people that were cooking the meals for the entire Jousters Compound. _I suppose I should be flattered that they clearly need me so badly, but if they really needed more workers they could have assigned a few others beside me. _ Musing on that thought, Mayat remembered the few times her father and brother had tried to cook meals when her mother had been too ill to work. The results had been anything but edible. _They're not desperate enough to try to eat anything a pack of adolescent boys threw together. _Mayat thought wryly.

As the woman whacked a slow kitchen boy as he walked past, Mayat had to stifle a laugh. Any Dragon Boy assigned here would have been thrown out on his ear within a sennight. While she had been introduced to the official Kitchen Overseer, this woman was clearly the true leader, as she barked orders from her place at the table.

When the two of them were once again alone, the woman spoke. "So you're the new girl who is trying to show those Jousters what a real woman can do, hmm?" Mayat looked up to see the woman measuring an amount of herbs while glancing up at her at the end of the question.

"I suppose so…" Mayat began.

"About time." The woman dumped the herbs into a large cauldron. "You should have heard them the first few sennights here. 'Why can I not have honey with my flatbread?'; 'Why is someone not waiting for me with a jar of wine when I return?'; 'Why must I serve myself?'; on and on! And they say that we are the delicate flowers."

That startled a laugh out of Mayat. "Is that not the truth!"

The woman continued measuring out ingredients while she spoke. "I am glad you seem to not be afraid of hard work. Some of the boys were sent here earlier to help, and if I have to sweep up the remains of one more pottery bowl, I believe I would have walked right up to Haraket and told him exactly what he can do with his uppity Jousters and Dragon Boys. You think it is easy running a staff of a dozen for a compound of scores?" Mayat quickly shook her head. "You bet your last honey cake it's not easy. But try telling that to a hungry Jouster who is full of more hot air than a Bedu tent in the middle of a _kamiseen._"

Mayat groaned. "I am probably assigned to one of those Jousters. Aren't I lucky?"

The woman made a rude noise. "I do not envy you that position. Perhaps in my youth I would have been one of the contenders for your position, but I have had enough of working for a person with less sense than my dog and more wealth than my entire extended family combined. Not that we had much, being serfs, but that is beside the point."

"Were you born a serf?" Mayat asked curiously.

"Yes; my family was one of the first taken by Tia when the treaty was broken so many years ago. But, my family has never been one for laying down to be walked over, and my mother taught me that sometimes a sharp tongue and words unspoken are the only ways one can fight back." The woman picked the pot off the floor and transferred it to the fire, surprising Mayat with her apparent strength. After setting prodding the fire into submission, she turned around and wiped her hands on her apron. "So what is your tale, Dragon Girl?"

She shrugged. "My father is a scribe who used to work for the Temple of Thet. We escaped Alta City when the two false Twins took the throne and went to Sanctuary before coming here. My younger brother is training to become a Jouster as well, though he is separated with the young boys. I was told about the position for a Dragon Girl, and thought I would take it."

"There is a lot more to that story than you are telling, young missy." The woman's eyes twinkled with amusement. She sat down heavily. "So, do you have a name, lass?"

"Mayat. I'm apprenticed to Jouster Akhom-ba-kari and his dragon Kemnebi."

The woman made a rude noise. "If I ever saw a pair more suited to each other. Your road is not going to be made smooth by either of those two. At least Haraket had the decency to put you here with old Hanna." Hanna gave Mayat an appraising glance. "I like you Mayat, so here is what I am going to do. You let me deal with Jouster-" here she inserted a rude word variation on Akhom-ba-kari, "while you work here for the rest of your apprenticeship. The kitchen is one of the few places the Dragon Boys will not dare to enter without permission, namely mine, and you are ten times more competent than any one of them."

"Agreed." Mayat said quickly, before Hanna had a chance to say anything else. "If I only have to see them at meals I should be fine."

Hanna held up a hand. "You should not disappear completely outside meal times. The boys will think they have you on the retreat, and rumors may start about how you spend your time if you stay in the shadows. No, always show up at a meal and eat something. It does not have to be much, but enough to show that you aren't afraid of them." Hanna gave a wry look as if sharing a private joke with Mayat. "Like hyenas, they can smell fear. If there is a game in the open, hang around the periphery. Finish your morning chores quickly and quietly. You can stay at the back of any group, just make sure you are _there_. Eventually they will get used to you being there and ignore you or maybe even start up tentative friendships."

Mayat's face must have shown how she felt about subjecting herself to weeks of psychological warfare, as Hanna continued. "Oh, it won't be so bad. You'll always be able to talk with me, and as a woman, you know that your emotional stamina is much greater than theirs." Hanna reached over and patted her shoulder. "Think of it this way, things can only get better."

Mayat snorted, giving her opinion on how likely _that _would be.

"Come now, let us move to other things. Perhaps you would like to tell me the full story of your flight from Alta."

The pair spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories and eating the best bits of the meals before they left to the Jousters.

**Author's Note: Wow, this chapter is longer than I expected. I just realized that all of my chapters so far have hovered around seven or eight pages in MS Word. I hope it's of decent length and not too wordy. **

**So yeah, sorry for the delay, yadda yadda yadda, I'll try to get up another chapter this week because school starts next week and I don't know when I will have the time to finish this. Eh, I'll update when I can. At least I actually have a plan of sorts for this story, unlike with Circle Remade. Thanks to ya'll who reviewed; it is so great when I log onto my e-mail and see a little "Review Alert" letter. **

**I thought I would address concerns over Aket-ten potentially becoming involved in Mayat's life, making her Mary-Sueish. I would like to ease those concerns now; the purpose of that scene is to close off any of Mayat's escape plans and raise the stakes. **

**Other questions? Concerns? Critiques? Kudos? Leave them in a REVIEW and I will address them as best I can. **

**Oh, I would like to point out the character of Hanna is in fact that of reviewer Hannahtheplante. Let's all give her a round of applause!!! *claps in a circle pattern* I might have a contest like this in later chapters when I need a few good villains, so keep reviewing and I'll keep you posted on that front.**

**Alright, I think I'll sign off now. Jess-Jess, end review and ROLL OUT!**


	5. Friends

New Wings:

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Five: Friends

Mayat no longer had to be woken up by a novice priestess; it had taken a while, but her internal clock finally adjusted to the up-at-dawn attitude of the Jousters. In the three sennights since coming to the Jousters Compound, for the last sennight Mayat had been able to successfully awaken herself and get dressed and ready for the day without any prompting. Usually it still took her a while to wake up enough to pass for a sentient being, but today she needed no mental nudges before she rolled off her mattress and got to work with a spring in her step.

The first few sennights had been hectic enough with the Compound gaining so many new additions that the Dragon Boys' (and Girl's) free one afternoon a sennight had been postponed until now. However, two nights ago Haraket had announced that the afternoons off would commence the next day, and Mayat was in the second group to be let off. It was a pity that Aryet-ke and she had not been given the same day off; she could count on one hand the number of times she had gotten a chance to speak with her brother since becoming a Dragon Girl. The Compound was not large enough to keep them from seeing each other in the streets, but it was busy enough to keep them from having any meaningful conversations. Encounters mostly went as such:

"Mayat!"

"Aryet-ke!"

"How are you doing?"

"Fine. You?"

"Fine. I have to go, but keep a positive attitude, sister."

"You too, brother."

Mayat sighed at the thought of Aryet-ke. So much for their dream of training to be Jousters together. If Hanna didn't make a point of talking to her even when Mayat was giving off clear "I am being an emotional adolescent" vibes, Mayat probably would have left long ago, despite Lady Aket-ten's warning.

_At least the boys are starting to, not exactly accept, but certainly tolerate me. I'm not sure how much I can expect on the friendship front, since Anteros and Jahil-ja-bar have only given me a few hesitant smiles since that first day, but I suppose I cannot blame them for not wanting to associate with the only girl in the Compound. If I am correct, Anteros could be one of the more popular boys in the group, he certainly makes friends easily enough. But he is already stuck with Jahil as a liability, and I am certain he would not like another. _Mayat mused as she pulled her tunic over her head and ran a comb quickly through her hair. At least there was a silver lining to joining the Jousters; her shorter hair was much easier to manage than before.

Since she still had a full morning of chores ahead of her, Mayat wasted no time in running to the cold room. She had developed a system of timing her arrival at the moment most of the boys were only beginning to trickle in. By the time she was gone with her meat, the worst of the mockers had only just arrived on the scene. But even that had ceased to bother her; Hanna had been correct in predicting that boy's emotional stamina is considerably less than that of the opposite gender. After the first initial days of name-calling and thrown bloody pieces of meat, the rudeness trickled down to the occasional tripping or slung insult. Mostly because there was really nowhere to really _do _anything worse to her.

Since her bed was in a temple, few of them had dared to attempt to do anything disgusting to her pallet, and the three that had found themselves swiftly thrown out the door and facing a furious Haraket. Kemnebi's reputation turned out to be a gift; none would face the dragon while he was in his pen, and Mayat made a point of never being in the sand pit without him nearby. The one time Mayat had led the dragon back to his pen and found a pile of dead rodents on floor, she had very calmly picked up them by the tail and made a big show of feeding them to Kemnebi. Her father the scribe was irrationally afraid of rodents, so Mayat or her mother took care of the occasional vermin the family cat presented to them. The boys did not dare cross Hanna and take their activities to the kitchen, so mealtimes and morning lessons/chores were the only times Mayat was in a vulnerable position.

It was a good thing that the boys lacked the creativity to take any truly drastic steps; if it had been Mayat trying to force someone out of the Compound, she would have poisoned the rats in the hope that the Dragon Boy/Girl in question would feed them to the dragon and be turned out when the dragon changed its temperament or sickened. When Mayat brought this up with Hanna, the old woman only shook her head and said, "Siris help whoever gets on your bad side."

The only time Mayat came close to losing it in front of the Dragon Boys was one day when she was late to the cold room when the worst offenders were there. While she was walking away with a loaded cart, someone, she didn't see who, threw a rock at the barrow hard enough to tip over the cart. Mayat spent a good half a candlemark cleaning up the mess, and then was given a full dressing down by both Jouster Akhom-ba-kari (for being late) and Overseer Haraket (for wasting food). By the end Mayat was very unsuccessfully trying to keep back tears, but didn't break down sobbing until she was safely in the kitchen. She probably would have broken down earlier if she had been expected to say anything beyond "No, sir" and "Yes, sir".

The rhythm life at the Compound had taken off gave her time to think of this while she fed and harnessed Kemnebi, gave Jouster Akhom-ba-kari the submissive gestures he expected, and half-listened to the morning lessons. Today the instructor spoke about the origins of the Magi and their part in the Altan and Tian war, information that Mayat already knew from her father. Morning lessons on dragon behavior, habits, life cycle, repairing harnesses and saddles, and history lessons on the war between Alta and Tia were either very interesting or very dull. In two moons time the lessons would be exchanged for more chores, so Mayat supposed she ought to value the free mental time.

As soon as the group was released from lessons, Mayat waited at the back of the group, as per usual, before walking to the Mess Hall for a quick bite to eat before being dismissed to roam. As soon as Haraket called her name, Mayat was out of her seat and into the street trying her best to rush without appearing to.

xxx

"Mother?" Mayat called from the entrance to her family's home. She tentatively took a step inside and called again, "Father?" The family animals pushed forward to nuzzle her with their noses as they recognized the departed bringer-of-food. Mayat absentmindedly brushed one of the sheep on the head as she looked up the ladder to the second story where the family stayed. The few sheep kept in the pen on the ground floor provided extra income to the family, and Mayat did enjoy her chores dealing with the animals. "Is anyone going to greet the prodigal daughter?" She called.

"Mayat!" Her mother, Sanura, cried as she stepped down the ladder. "I thought you would never visit! Are not the Dragon Boys, given some time off every now and then to themselves?" Sanura took her daughter in her arms and the two hugged. Mayat inhaled her mother's scent of warm dough and candle wax and nearly cried with relief at being home.

"No, they just prefer not to spend time visiting their old, decrepit parents." Rashet called from his place at the top of the ladder. He fixed Mayat with a mockingly stern expression. " 'Oh, sharper than a serpent's tooth, is an irresponsible child!' " He quoted from one of his many books.

"Well, I just thought I would see how long before my inheritance is forthcoming." Mayat grinned at her father as he laughed.

Sanura shook her head as she looked at the pair of them. "I feel like I have three children; you, Aryet-ke, and your father." Sanura said to Mayat.

"Beloved wife, what have I done to deserve such an injustice?" Rashet began walking down the ladder toward the pair.

"Oh, where to begin?" Sanura said, waving a finger at her husband.

Mayat felt like her cheeks were never going to stop hurting, she was grinning so wide. Her mother, the same height as Mayat, was just now starting to put on a little weight around the middle, but with arms just as muscular as ever from working around the house, had gained a few more lines in her face and gray in her hair since Mayat left. Otherwise she was the same caring and slightly acerbic woman she always had been. Rashet was slightly taller than the women of the family, thin as the reeds he used to make paper, completely gray, the only lines on his face laugh lines and crow's feet at the corner's of his eyes, and witty as ever.

Rashet stepped forward, leaning a little on his cane, and took Mayat into a one-armed hug. "My daughter, I am so glad you've come home."

"I'm glad to be home, Father." Mayat said, meaning every word.

The small family greetings were interrupted by a harsh voice issuing from upstairs. "If that is some sort of family reunion, I believe I should be included. Come upstairs so I can see you, Mayat! I need to talk to you!"

Mayat looked at her mother, her grin gone. "Why is _she _here?" She demanded, giving Sanura a look of faint disgust.

"Your Grandmother Halima-emu has some news she wanted us to give you, which now you can hear from her." Sanura gave Mayat a look that gave no room for arguments. "And she is your elder, so you will give her the respect accorded to her."

Her good mood soured, Mayat preceded her parents up the ladder into the family room. The area was still relatively empty, with Jousters given first priority with furniture, but there was a nice, large rug spread across the floor, a few wicker chairs here and there, a wall hanging embroidered by Sanura, a low table in the middle of the room, and a small kitchen area in the corner with various cooking implements. In one of the chairs sat a very bony, very wrinkly woman with a very, very cross expression on her face.

"So, have you finally come to your senses and quit this Jouster business?" Grandmother Halima-emu said, in her scratchy reed-like voice.

"No, Grandmother, I am here on a social visit." Mayat said, keeping her voice neutral.

"Hmph." The woman picked up her cup of tea and took a sip while the family sat down and tried to pick up the easy atmosphere they had created downstairs. Halima-emu was not an easy woman to get along with, and Mayat was vastly thankful for the fact that another one of Rashet's brothers had the dubious honor of caring for their mother in her old age. The few appearances she made each season were enough of a burden to Mayat, as Halima-emu made it her business to pressure Mayat into a marriage by the age of seventeen. As she was fifteen at the moment, the subtle hints had been exchanged for the direct naming of several sons (or grandsons) of friends who would make a "suitable" husband. Mayat really hoped that this visit didn't mean...

"Mayat, I have found you a husband." Halima-emu declared, setting her tea down.

_Cat dirt. _"Is that so?" Mayat said politely.

"No need to thank me dear." The grandmother waved her hand. "I have already talked with the boy's parents and they are quite receptive. I started looking as soon as I found out you had run off to the Jousters for a man who would be willing to overlook your little, ah, _rebellion_. His name is Matsim-eka, he is a baker's son, twenty-five seasons old, and not bad looking, I might add. If you stop this whole business of becoming a Jouster, you two can be married within five moons."

"Grandmother, he is ten seasons older than me." Mayat pointed out, deciding not to respond to the "rebellion" comment.

"And? My husband, Siris watch over him, was fifteen seasons older than me when we were married. Brides are often younger than their husbands, and an older, confident, world-wise husband is just what you need to stop you from making any more of a mess than you already have."

"Grandmother!" Mayat said, shocked that her family visit had been spoiled by _this_. "I do not want to be married, I want to become a Jouster! Great Queen Nofret is forming a Queen's Wing and I plan on becoming part of it."

"Do you want to become a childless, lonely spinster? Or do you want to lose your virtue to as many men as possible before your heart is broken beyond repair?"

"Mother!" Rashet snapped. "You will not talk to my daughter that way!"

Halima-emu quickly back-tracked. "I did not mean it in that way, I am just pointing out what people will say about a single, unaccompanied lady among so many men."

"If I become part of the Queen's Wing, I will not _be _around single me." Mayat pointed out, trying to remain calm and focused, as she had learned that becoming emotional would not help her in a verbal battle with her grandmother.

"Well then, when will you get a husband, hmm? When you become so old you cannot fly anymore, let alone bear children? You need to stop being so selfish and think of your parents. Who will take care of them when they get older if you and your brother are always gone?"

"The Jousters Compound has areas where the families of Jousters are provided for." Mayat said, feeling hurt at being called selfish.

"Stop acting like a child, Mayat. You are acting like a selfish, spoiled child who does not think of anyone besides themselves. You need to stop living in a fantasy and take up the role you were born to fill!" Grandmother Halima-emu snapped.

Mayat looked down and said nothing. She couldn't help thinking that what her grandmother said was right. After all, both Aryet-ke and she were leaving. And she did owe her parents more than just a place to stay and people who may or may not take good care of them.

As the silence stretched on, Sanura perceived, with the psychic ability all mothers seem to have, that Mayat was close to tears. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Mayat, how long do you have to visit?"

Mayat looked up to see her mother giving her a meaningful look. "I was hoping to talk with you a little more." She said quietly.

"Well, I am not sure what you do for a chores, but if they keep you busy enough to merit a three sennight break between visits, you should be going soon." Sanura said briskly, motioning with her eyes at Grandmother Halim-emu, who was blatantly giving Mayat a sour look.

"Oh, yes, I suppose I should go." Mayat said, standing up and placing her cup on the table. "Thank you for the tea."

As she made a quick exit, she heard her grandmother call after her, "Think about what I said Mayat, men like women who are docile and sweet. You have to act now or you will end up an old maid."

Mayat got to the bottom of the ladder and ran out of the house. She felt emotionally drained, and if there had been a hole in the middle of the road she very likely would have crawled into it. _You can't please anyone else, so at least try to please yourself. Or is that just selfish thinking? _Mayat wondered, as she slowly walked back to the Compound. Judging by the height of the sun, she had several candlemarks before she was due back for supper. Dejectedly, she began walking back toward the Compound, thinking about giving Kemnebi another grooming or reading a scroll in his pen, when a voice yelled out, "Mayat!"

She turned to see Anteros walking toward her. "Jahil and I were about to go get some honey cakes from one of the inns around here, if you split the cost you can share it with us." He said, before pausing. "Uh, are you alright?"

Mayat didn't feel like explaining. "Family issues." She said.

"Ah." Anteros said, as if that explained everything. "Well then, you are in even more need of something sweet. Come with me, Jahil is saving a table for us."

Mayat felt numb enough not to ask where this sudden generosity came from and just accept a little kindness. She followed the Akkadian to one of the tiny hole-in-the-wall inns that lined the street. Sure enough, Jahil sat at a corner table, drawing complicated diagrams in the dust that layered the table. He looked up at the sound of their approach. "Find someone?" He asked, squinting up at Mayat.

"Yep. Mayat, this is Jahil-ja-bar, Jahil, this is Mayat." Anteros pulled back a chair and offered it to Mayat before sitting himself.

"I know." Mayat and Jahil said at the same time.

"Well, you do sort of stand out." Jahil pointed out.

"And you make a point of standing out." Mayat said.

"Touché." Jahil said, raising his eyebrows. He upturned a money purse at his side a placed a few coins on the table. "How much do you have?"

Mayat pulled out the bit of money she had brought and placed it on the table. Anteros did the same as Jahil counted the money. "Excellent, we have enough for a full plate and drinks." Jahil said, feeling very pleased with himself. Anteros scooped the money into his hand and walked to the counter to place the order.

"Sorry for not talking to you earlier, but you never showed any interest at sitting at the table with the rest of the Dragon Boys." Anteros said when he returned with drinks.

Mayat waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Don't lose any sleep over it."

Jahil sat back in his chair. "Anteros likes becoming friends with the outcasts; it makes him feel good inside."

"Jahil!" Anteros said.

"Hey, I'm including myself in that category." Jahil said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"So what's your excuse?" Mayat asked.

Jahil shrugged. "I was in training to become a priest when I said the wrong thing to the wrong person. I was only really there because of my Gift of Animal Speech, so I wasn't that upset. However, my father in all his wisdom, decreed that 'nothing' was not an acceptable goal in life, so when Anteros press-ganged me into joining with him, I received no help at all."

Anteros snorted. "You were as excited as I was to become a Jouster."

"I was excited to meet the dragons, not to learn how to poke people with pointy sticks." Jahil said.

Mayat laughed. "You?" She said, looking at Anteros.

He shrugged. "Jahil's family and mine have been friends for the longest time, so we grew up like brothers. I tried to become a scholar, but I prefer the company of people to scrolls. I think the final straw came when I got into a shouting match with one of the head scholars over some technicality and ended it by calling him a-"

"Daft, self-aggrandizing, pompous ass." Jahil filled in.

Mayat gave him an incredulous look and he nodded. "Needless to say my father wasn't pleased, and the fact that I never made any aspirations in the field was the only thing that saved me from being disowned. Luckily, after the move to Aerie my father was more concerned with running his business than with finding a career for his reckless son, so he was happy enough to let me become a Jouster." Anteros took a sip of his beer then indicated Mayat and asked, "What about you? What's your story?"

Mayat thought for a moment before saying. "It's not quite as interesting as calling a superior an ass, but my family was one of the first to flee Alta and go to Sanctuary. After the Jousters moved here, my father decided to work as a scribe under Haraket. My brother and I fell in love with the dragons when we saw them in Sanctuary-"

"Who wouldn't have?" Jahil interrupted. Anteros stepped on his foot before motioning at Mayat to continue while Jahil gave him an angry look.

"And, well, when the Jousters announced that they would be accepting apprentices, my younger brother Aryet-ke was eager to apply. I found out that one girl would be accepted as well, and here I am." She took a long gulp of beer while Jahil opened his mouth to ask a question.

"So, how did no one notice that the Magi were evil? Did everyone just accept that they could do whatever they wanted?"

"You forget that the Magi had been in power for so long that it was believed that they were working for the good of Alta." Mayat shook her head in retrospect. "Not to mention the Eye, that they could wield to burn out any area of the city that held dissidents."

"But did they not just _reek_ of malevolence?" Jahil persisted.

"It's not as if they went around rubbing their hands together and cackling evilly." Mayat said.

"You mean like this?" Anteros tented his fingers and gave his best impression of a villain in a storyteller's tale. "Ah ha ha ha ha!" He laughed deeply.

"No no no, less from your diaphragm and more from your throat." Jahil said. "More of a he he he ho ho ho ha ha ha HA!"

"You're both wrong, it's all in the inflection." Mayat said, enjoying herself thoroughly. "AH ha ha ha, HA HA ah ha ha! Ha HA!"

The conversation continued in the same vein for some time, pausing only for an opportunity to stuff faces with honey cakes. When the trio made their way back to the Jouster's Compound, Mayat was surprised to find her good humor restored as she felt, amazingly, accepted.

**Author's Note: Hooray, I finished. It was hard work too, with the thunderstorm zapping my power and destroying all unsaved material. BUT I HAVE OVERCOME!**

**If I recall from the books, I think they judge time in candlemarks, and a candlemark is about an hour. If I'm wrong feel free to slap me with a herring.**

**In the category of Jess-Jess mess-ups, Kling pointed out that the morning "chore block" should be taken up by formal instruction, and after a bit of thought I agree that Ari and Kiron probably would rather teach them dragon-y stuff in a class rather than relying on the Jousters, since there is no guarantee that an "apprentice's" "master" would have spent as much time learning about dragons as the Wingleaders have. My bad. So, in Chapter Four, the line "after assisting for a few uncomfortable hours in the repair room" has been changed to "After getting a lesson in rudimentary dragon keeping with the rest of the Dragon Boys (during which she stood toward the back of the group and patiently tried to ignore the fact that everytime the group changed locations there was a mad scramble to push her out of the way and stand at the front of the line)". Better? **

**I thought the dialogue between Mayat and her grandmother, and then with the boys, felt a little off, so what do ya'll think? Reviewers shall be showered in internet love and cookies ^.^ I would like to thank my reviewers: Hannahtheplante, Kling, Isaboo, 2stupid, and Crazy and Proud. You made my left arm feel all warm and tingly =D**


	6. Changes

New Wings:

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Six: Changes

"Anteros, Jahil!" Mayat called, as she pushed her barrow as fast as she could toward the pair already waiting at the cold room. In the past five moons, Mayat had mastered the art of weaving the unsteady barrow around obstacles and, when it was empty, could run without tipping it over or crushing any toes.

"Good morning, Mayat." Anteros said with a smile as Jahil gave a little nod of acknowledgement. "How are you this fine day?" Mayat snorted in reply. Judging by the ominous winds picking up, the following days would be anything but fine as the first storm of the dry season set in. It was hard to believe that six moons ago, at the end of the dry season, she had entered the Compound for the first time. Anteros proceeded to then help Mayat wrestle a bull carcass into her barrow as the conversation continued.

"Nervous." Mayat responded. "And you?"

"The same," Anteros replied, "Though I think Jahil is a little worse off than I am."

"Can you really blame him?" Mayat said with a wry grin. "He's already made more enemies than friends in your barrack and annoyed his master into almost firing him, do you really think his new mentor is going to like him any better?"

"Alas, the poor lot of Jahil-ja-bar, to constantly be surrounded by the poor fools of the world." Anteros said, putting his hand to his heart in a dramatic stance.

"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha." Jahil said sarcastically. "Wait and see, I bet your new mentor is going to be a miniature Haraket and boss you around from dawn to dusk."

"Better than having a mentor who makes you clean out dragon droppings with a fork." Mayat said, referring to the time when Jahil told his master, Jouster Kamun-a-net that his dragon Neshap liked Jahil better than him. The resulting shouting match could have been heard from across the compound, and if Jahil had not been gifted with the Speech of Animals he would have been thrown out of the compound that very night. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, the Jouster resorted to exacting vengeance by making Jahil perform menial tasks, such as the aforementioned cleaning out of the dragon's pen with a fork.

"At least a smaller dragon will mean smaller droppings." Anteros offered helpfully.

"In my defense, Neshap did like me better. I know because I asked him. So there." Jahil said. "And besides, I do not mind caring for dragons, it is the principle of the thing. If we did not have to obey someone who is just a few years older than us and believes that he knows everything just because he got a dragon egg a few moons before us-"

"You would mind if the Jouster was a hundred years older than you! Face it; you have a problem with authority." Anteros said.

"I do not." Jahil said.

"Yes you do!" Mayat said with a laugh.

"Well, at least I had the confidence to tell Kamun-a-net that Neshap liked me better, unlike _some_ people." Jahil said. "Oh, yes, I brought that up."

"He has you there, Mayat." Anteros said, turning to her with a smile.

"Well even I admit that was awkward." Mayat said with a shudder. "Still, I'm glad Jouster Akhom-ba-kari has mellowed out to a…hmmm…" Mayat tried to think of a good phrase.

"Malevolent ambivalence?" Jahil offered.

"Yes, that." Mayat said ruefully.

"At least after today you will not have to deal with him. You might have to work with a former Dragon Boy who probably hates you already while you try to train an ill-tempered fledgling together, but at least you will not have to deal with the malignant ambivalence of Jouster Akhom-ba-kari." Jahil said

"Thanks Jahil, you really are the wind beneath my wings." Mayat said sourly.

"Well I try my best." Jahil said nodding.

"Come on you two, let's get this meat to our charges and break our fasts, we can theorize later." Anteros said, as always, the voice of reason in the group.

Mayat shrugged and began pushing her barrow down the lane that would bring her to Kemnebi's pen. She was not looking forward to the last meal she would bring Kemnebi before he would be assigned either a new Dragon Boy or have to rely on the sparse attentions of Jouster Akhom-ba-kari. At least she would not be forbidden from seeing him altogether; the ebony and gold dragon definitely had grown on her through the moons of caretaking. Maybe even a little too much. Mayat reflected on the event that Jahil had so kindly brought to mind…

_While it was technically the rainy season, out in the desert there was little to no indication of the change in seasons. The temperature changed from 'blistering hot' to merely 'sweltering hot' and there seemed to be a bit more moisture in the air, but other than that there was no real change in weather. Much to the chagrin of the Jousters, for the rainy season had traditionally been a time of rest for them, they were expected to continue flying patrols and such until the first storm of the season threatened Aerie. _

_The priests in Sanctuary had sent word that a storm was going to hit within twenty-four candlemarks, and that all pens in the Compound should be securely fastened so that the Jousters would not be left with sand soup and irritable, wet dragons. Mayat had thought it strange that the first storm would arrive more than halfway through the season, but dismissed the thought as irrelevant and gotten to closing and insulating all the empty pens on the street. _

_Starting at the end of the block, she had worked her way down the street until she was in the pen directly across from Kemnebi's. By this time the sky had grown dark and Kemnebi was buried in the sand in his pen and Jouster Akhom-ba-kari was out drinking with friends. Or, at least, those that called themselves his friends. Mayat pushed open the slightly ajar door and placed her lantern down right inside the door, creating a pool of light inside the pen and throwing shadows into the corners of the room._

_Mayat had knelt down and was shoving rags into the crack under one of the double doors when she heard a low hiss. She froze as a thin shadow seemed to separate itself from the corner. It was almost halfway across the room when Mayat realized what it was. _

Cobra!_ She thought with panic and grabbed her lantern. A warning hiss froze her hand to the handle of the lantern. Every heartbeat thudded in her ears, and adrenaline heightened all of her senses. Hardly daring to breathe, she watched as the snake almost lazily twisted its way across the sand pit, then halted a few meters away from her. Mayat was torn between her desire to stand up and run away as far and fast as she could and her head that told her movement was not a good idea. It was entirely possible that the snake could strike in the moment between standing up and running. But the longer she sat the higher the likelihood that the snake would lash out. The image of her neighbor's son who had been bitten by a cobra while cleaning out the animal pens flashed in front of her eyes. The boy had suffered in complete agony for six candlemarks before finally succumbing to the poison. _

_The cobra flared its hood and hissed again. Mayat muffled a whimper by biting down on her lip. Perspiration broke out on her back and neck. She had never understood the term "fear coursing through one's veins," but found the statement accurate to describe the sheer terror that seemed to grow with each beat of her heart. _

_There was no way of knowing how long the stalemate lasted until a gust of wind blew the open door shut with a bang. The cobra reared, and Mayat took that moment to propel herself backward with her legs. Scrambling to stand up, she began stepping back before she was fully erect and had to step back quickly to avoid overbalancing and falling. \_

_Keeping her eye on the snake as it slipped under the door and shot toward her, she threw the lantern at the form. In her panic, she overshot, and the lantern landed behind the cobra, urging it forward as the oil spilled and caught alight. _Talk about your all-time backfire, _She thought hysterically. The cobra shot toward her-_

_Suddenly, she felt a yank on the back of her tunic and she was dangling a meter off the ground. A black scaled arm whipped out from under her and swiped at the cobra, knocking it against the far wall across the street. There was a crack of impact, then a loose rope of dead snake coiled on the ground. _

_When the cloud of adrenaline cleared, she suddenly realized that she was hanging by the back of her tunic in the jaws of Kemnebi. Slowly, the dragon lowered her to the ground. As she collapsed on the stone walkway, she took a few harsh, steadying breaths as she turned to see Kemnebi looking at her with concern. _

_She gathered her wits, and then reached out for the dragon. He put his nose under her hand, then she moved her hand to scratch him beneath his chin as she murmured words of praise and endearment in his ear. Eventually the blood stopped pounding quite so loud in her ears and she began to relax. The two stayed sitting outside the pen for a good long while. _

From then on, Jouster Akhom-ba-kari had stopped his outright abuse, if not his dislike of Mayat. In her opinion, this was the best outcome. The Jouster would never move above the level of passive dislike to grudging respect, but malignant ambivalence was a good enough compromise.

As she neared the pen, Mayat saw Kemnebi awaiting her, and from his posture he was impatient for his breakfast. She threw a few pieces of meat at him, which he deftly caught, to take the edge off his hunger before wheeling the barrow close enough for him to bury his snout in. "Make yourself extra filthy today, Kemnebi. It's time for Akhom-ba-kari to do an honest hard days work." Kemnebi snorted and continued to eat with gusto.

Once the dragon finished, she harnessed him up with the preciseness of moons of practice and talked to him. She never was quite sure how much Kemnebi understood, but she was certain he at least vaguely knew what she was referring to. "It's like this, Kemnebi. All the Dragon Boys, and me, only were the caretakers of adult dragons for six moons. Now that the trial period is over, it's time we get experience with the hatchlings, the ones who will give us the essential training for when we get eggs of our own. This means," She said, making sure he was looking at her, "that I no longer am your Dragon Girl after today."

Kemnebi made a _whuffi_ng sound and looked at her reproachfully.

"Now don't you start on me," Mayat said. "I have to go, it's what's required of me. If it were up to me, I would be your sole caretaker until I get a dragon of my own, but it's not. You'll get a new Dragon Boy, and I'll get assigned a new dragonet to look after and a newly made Jouster who thinks he is oh-so-superior because he received his egg a few moons before me." Mayat sighed. "It's terrible for both of us, but I think it will be for the best in the long run. Besides," She said with a grin. "I can still visit you all I want." She patted him one last time before leaving the pen for her own breakfast. She wiped away a tear as she walked, but regained composure as she neared the dining hall and spotted Anteros and Jahil saving a seat for her.

"Finally Mayat, did you trip over your own feet again?" Jahil asked conversationally.

"It happened once, alright, once! Let it go already." Mayat snapped. "I was saying good-bye to Kemnebi."

"It's alright, I did the same with Seigira this morning." Anteros said, giving Jahil a look.

Jahil shrugged, "I would have said some sort of farewell, but Jouster Kamun-a-net hovered over me the entire time I was feeding Neshap. I think he fair danced with glee once I left."

Mayat nodded and bit into a flatbread spread liberally with honey. Though it had seemed to be eons away at the beginning of the trial period, especially while she and Kemnebi were still working on their relationship, she found this day to be arriving all too fast. Still, she had to look to the future, to her own dragon egg. Only six more moons, and then an egg would be hers. Trying to change the conversation, she cleared her throat. "So, who will our new mentors be?" She asked.

"I think that's them over there." Anteros said, nodding at a table of adolescents eating and talking loudly in the center of the room. The table with the current Dragon Boys (and Girl) stood off to the side, out of the way of the Jouster tables. Mayat noticed her tablemates seemed soberer than usual, and kept shooting covert looks as the Jousters-in-training.

"At least they might be slightly less bigheaded than the Jousters." Jahil reasoned. "After all, they have been working alone with their dragonets for five moons already. They should be grateful for the extra pair of hands."

"Well, we'll see." Mayat said neutrally.

"Dragon Boys, attention!" Haraket's booming voice silenced the hall in an instant. The table of Dragon Boys and Mayat quickly got to their feet in almost unison.

"Today you receive your new assignments. The dragonets are slowly becoming less like walking stomachs and more like fighters that need to be trained." A bit of laughter from the Jousters-in-training was quickly silenced. "When your name is called, your mentor will stand up. Remember his face, and then sit down. The two of you can find each other after breakfast. Anteros, you will be assigned to Seft-kani. Kiftano, you are assigned to Ban-at-ka…"

When Mayat heard her name called, she looked across the room to see that a kind looking young man named Rasui had been assigned to be her mentor. She gave him a tentative smile, which he returned. Sitting down, she felt slightly better, which was good because she was better able to comfort Jahil who had been assigned Rash-net-ah, a well-known Akhom-ba-kari in training.

"Jousters, go to your dragons. Dragon Boys and Fledglings, meet each other and get acquainted with your tasks." Mayat cocked her head at the term for a Winged One apprentice to be used in referring to a Jouster-in-training. _I suppose they must have decided to make a new name for the new class of Jousters._ She mused. There were the sounds of mass scrapings of wooden chairs against the stone floor as the hall emptied, then the Dragon Boys and new mentors were left alone with each other. The two groups faced off, before one stepped forward, Seft-kani, Anteros' mentor, and apparently the elected spokesperson of the group.

"Greetings, all. I am Seft-kani, and I suppose I will be the one giving the orientation speech." There were a few chuckles from the groups. "Haraket has given us mostly a free run of the place until we start training, which will be in about two sennights. During this time you will be getting to know the dragonets and your mentors so that when the real work of training begins, you will have adjusted to the state of semi-sleep depravity." This time there were open laughs among the Fledglings. Mayat noticed that most of them had rims of sleeplessness below their eyes. "After that, we will have communal lessons with the members of your Wing to build up group trust. The Dragon Boys of the mentors of a Wing will be in the same Wing when they graduate. After six months, if you are deemed ready, you will be given your dragon egg."

Mayat gulped. _If_ they were ready? _I hope whoever decides if we are ready is not dead set against female Jousters. _She thought.

"I believe that is all, so go to your mentors. Fledglings, group into your Wings, and once everyone has their Dragon Boy, go to the pens." Seft-kani said. A state of semi-chaos broke out, as is understandable when adolescents are left to govern themselves, but soon the Wings spread out enough that the Dragon Boys could find their mentors with ease. Mayat was thrilled to find both Anteros and Jahil-ja-bar in her Wing.

Her previous hesitation evaporated as Rasui stepped right up to her and said, "Hello there. My name is Rasui, and your name is Mayat, right?" She nodded. "It's good to finally meet you, you certainly have turned the Compound on its ear." He said with a good natured grin.

"I hope I didn't wound too many egos." Mayat said.

"Eh, there are plenty of egos that need wounding." Rasui said, waving aside her comment. "Not mine, of course."

"Of course." Mayat said dryly.

"It's good to see that you have a sense of humor. And that you got me for a mentor. I think Wingleader Gan felt guilty after leaving you with Ass-hom."

"Did you just call Jouster Akhom-" Mayat said with a startled laugh.

"Ass-hom? Sure, that's what all of us former Dragon Boys call him. Or, at least, anyone who has been ordered to bring him a jar of date wine and melon after a long day of work."

Mayat laughed before being interrupted by the clearing of Seft-kani's throat. "I believe everyone has found their mentee in our Wing, so let us go to the pens, shall we?" There was a general murmur of agreement before the group started moving forward.

As the group walked, Rasui started talking again. "My dragonet, and your charge, is Khepri, after the flower that grows along the Great Mother River. She's a handful, but is the most affectionate and vocal in the nursery." As he spoke, Mayat notice a tone of endearment in his voice and was overcome by such a strong wave of longing for a dragonet of her own that she looked down so her face wouldn't give her away. "Your tasks for the next two sennights will only be difficult in that you will need to adjust to the faster pace of the dragonets. They need constant supervision and eat four or five meals a day. We left a pair of servants to supervise them while we were at breakfast today, but usually we rotate in pairs who goes to meals and who stays behind to supervise and eat later."

Mayat noticed that the group was meandering through a side canyon of Aerie, far away from the main thoroughfare. The houses here were closer together and not as decorated as those in the main areas of the Compound. "Where are we?" She asked.

"The 'nurseries,' as the Jousters call them, are all in side canyons. About two moons into the hatchlings growth we let them roam free between the pens to begin building trust and teamwork. I hear the Queen's Wing even let their hatchlings sleep in one communal pen, so only one person has to sleep with the babies. Some of the other Wings are petitioning Wingleader Kiron to have builders create a communal pen so they can do the same here, but I'm just as happy sleeping next to Khepri, even if it means I get sand in my pallet. But I digress. The nurseries are all out of the way to avoid any hatchlings accidentally wandering off and getting into trouble in the Main Compound, or worse, into an adult dragon's pen. The adult males can be a little touchy when there is an influx of hatchlings around." Rasui said ruefully.

While Mayat digested this new piece of information, the group arrived at the "nursery." A large wooden gate as tall as Mayat blocked the path, but Seft-kani strode forward and undid the simple latch. "It won't stop a dragonet that honestly wants to escape, but it serves more as a reminder to them where the off-limits area is." As the group entered the side canyon, Mayat counted four houses on either side of the road, with various attempts at painting and individualizing the homes with paint on the lintels over the doors. Two servants hurried forward at the sound of the latch being drawn.

"How are they, Darek, Het-heru?" Seft-kani asked.

"Fine, after a candlemark or so of playing they fell asleep and have been since." The woman, Het-heru, answered.

"Very good. Thank you for watching over them." Seft-kani said.

"The pleasure is ours." Darek said fondly. The two left as the mentors began leading their students to their pens.

Rasui led Mayat to the third house on the right, where someone, presumably Rasui, had painted a glowing sunset over the doorway. The painting was certainly better than any of the others, and Mayat couldn't help but think this was a good sign. "Khepri?" Rasui called. "Someone is here to meet you." Mayat peered into the pen to see a pale purplish-magenta and sand colored female dragonet sleeping in the middle of the remains of a flour sack stuffed with rags. With a snuffling sound, Khepri awoke, citrine-colored eyes fixing on the most important person in her life. With a happy cry, she stumbled to her feet and bounded over to Rasui. The utter devotion between the two warmed Mayat's heart and sent another surge of longing through her.

_This is what a human-dragon partnership should look like_, Mayat thought. She felt guilty at leaving Kemnebi with Jouster Akhom-ba-kari, who barely spent any time with the dragon outside of riding him, and felt a strong urge to slap the Jouster. For once, not for her own sake, but for Kemnebi's. The dragon was probably starving for affection, and now the only person who cared enough to give him the attention he needed, that is, Mayat, had left. She resolved to visit the black and gold dragon with as much time as could be spared.

Rasui looked up and said, "Sorry, I tend to forget other people when I am greeting her."

Mayat shook her head. "Do not worry about it."

Rasui gestured at Mayat and looked at Khepri. "Khepri, this is Mayat. She will be helping for the next six moons or so."

Whether the dragonet understood what her bonded was telling her or not, she stepped eagerly over to Mayat and poked her head in Mayat's hand, begging for an itch behind her eye ridges. Mayat laughed and obliged. "Well, are you not the flatterer." Khepri whuffed and looked at Mayat with a happy expression.

**Author's Note: Well, now, lookee here, a new chapter in the middle of a semester. Lol whut? Sorry for the delay guys, but Pre-Cal and Physics are slowly killing me. So yes, I hoped you enjoyed it.**

**I have no idea what the distance units are in Altia, so I just decided to go with the metric system. If you do know, please tell me in a review so I can correct it. Also, what sounds do dragons make? I need some way to make the dragons attitudes known besides body language, and I can't remember if they chirp or bugle or what. Help? **

**I can't decide whether to put a big training section in the next chapter or get into that stuff when Mayat, Jahil, and Anteros train their own dragons. I'm leaning toward training in the next chapter so I can do a time jump to when action starts after the hatching, but what do you, my loyal readers think? **

**Thank you Hannahtheplante, 2stupid, Kling, Isaboo, Crazy and Proud, and Drowning in the Night for reviewing! Give yourselves a pat on the back ^.^**

**A little FF, fun fact for you, I was sorely tempted to put "smaller dragon equals smaller poops" and satisfy my sophomoric humor, but I overcame it. I hope you all appreciate my sacrifice. **


	7. Training

New Wings:

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Seven: Training

"And then Anteros says to Kiftano, 'Sure I would love to help you out…but tell me which way you came in.'" Mayat said, trying to hold back her laughter until the end of the story.

Hanna sat back and roared with laughter, "I trust he spent the next several minutes working out how he was insulted!"

Mayat joined in laughing, "And the next after that trying to find a way to insult Anteros back!"

Hanna went back to cutting vegetables as she continued to talk, "It serves him right, continually trying to pass off his chores to other boys. It's a good thing everyone spread the word around before he came to Anteros; that boy is too kind for his own good."

Mayat added a spoonful of salt to the pot before cautiously taking a sip. "You never would know it if you heard the way he speaks sometimes. He is downright rude when it comes to people slacking off or complaining. But really, I think it's good that these things are aired out before we have to start working together as a wing. It tells the slackers and complainers that people notice their behavior and if they want to fit in they had better start doing their share of the work. It's not like when girls get together and smile in the faces of their enemies and then complain to each other behind their backs."

Hanna rolled her eyes, "I know what you mean; for five seasons I worked as a cook in a fine, upper class household, and let me tell you, those daughters were in and out of my kitchen, getting in the way of things while telling me how one sister took another's favorite comb, as if telling me would do any good. No, this is much better. Kiftano may be resentful of Anteros for a while, but he will get over his troubles and the group will be stronger for it."

"Exactly; he's not a bad person, just used to only doing a certain amount of work before he decides it's too much bother. The other people in my wing are doing alright though; Amenemhet is still competing with Anteros for leadership, but Marik-a-tem and Nizam have finally stopped squabbling all the time, and Ialu-no-ket definitely is more focused than he used to be."

"And Jahil?" Hanna said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Still annoying the living daylights of everyone around him, but he's getting better at picking the right time to let off one of his comments. Having Rash-net-ah as a mentor has definitely made him more cautious when it comes to speaking his mind, and it only took five dead rats in his pallet to show it." Mayat said.

"It's good that you're starting to adjust to each others personalities." Hanna said neutrally.

"It's about time." Mayat said. "I was tired of feeling like the mother of the group."

"And don't I know it." Hanna said with a groan. "My ears still hurt from the number of times you came in here screaming about another childish quarrel."

"I never screamed…I was speaking with passion." Mayat said.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid." Hanna said with a grin. "But tell me, how have things been on the draconic front? How has Khepri adjusting to having to work for her meals?"

Mayat laughed. "The training is going well. Rasui and I have been working to get Khepri used to wearing the saddle and harness and slowly adding sandbags on her back to get her used to the weight. Khepri has her moments of capriciousness, but Rasui is patient enough with her that she does not become frustrated or angry. Since I'm the more nimble of the two of us, I usually end up playing 'tag' with her to build up her muscle tone, but Rasui has been doing the majority of teaching the commands while I watch and learn."

Mayat crossed the kitchen to glance out the window and judge the sun's position. Since becoming a full-time apprentice, her chores in the kitchen had been cut back to four times a sennight and only for a few candlemarks in the late afternoon between meals and mandatory training sessions. Rasui would spend the time drilling Khepri with commands and strengthening the bond between him and his dragon.

"The good news is that Jahil did some quick arithmetic and figured out that the oldest of the clutch, which I think would be Ban-at-ka's dragon Mikna, should be starting their First Flight soon. Khepri was one of the middle eggs of the clutch, so hopefully Rasui and I will soon be able to start working on aerial commands and maneuvers."

"Well good, I hope it means that your work is almost over." Hanna said. "It's getting lonely in the kitchens with only Odion telling me the same stories over and over again."

The aforementioned Dragon Boy who was sitting in the corner peeling tubers looked up with a glare. "Hanna…" He started.

"Go back to peeling your tubers boy, I'm enjoying my girl talk." Hanna said, playfully throwing the top of a carrot at him. "Now what were you saying, dear." She said, turning back to Mayat.

Mayat hid a smile behind her hands and said, "I just hope you'll find someone to talk to once I get my own egg and hatchling."

"Well, I do have high hopes for Odion, if he would just _stop trying to sneak honey cakes behind my back_." Hanna said the last part loud enough for Odion to hear.

"Hanna, that's not being fair, sometimes I try to sneak honey cakes in front of you." He said, keeping his voice neutral while concentrating on his work.

Mayat laughed and looked at the position of the sun. "Sorry to interrupt the two of you, but it's time for me to get back to the pens. Rasui will be needing me to play with Khepri to work off all her energy before bed."

Hanna waved Mayat off. "Hurry along to your little sandbox, I have a supper to finish preparing."

Mayat had to stop herself from skipping out of the kitchen. It had taken a few hard moons of near-isolation and a hard dose of reality, but she finally felt like she fit in. Despite her complaints to Hanna, her wing had a number of good people in it, especially Anteros and Jahil. Her close friends never hesitated to help when she genuinely needed it, and even though her run-ins with Aryet-ke had become even more infrequent as her work took her more and more into out of the way parts of Aerie, he still gave her a smile and encouraging word when she saw him.

After making a brief stop in Kemnebi's pen to check up on the dragon, she continued down the twisted streets of Aerie to the nursery. It was strange to think how she had first gotten lost in the network of alleys, but now the traversing the maze of the city was second nature to her.

Mayat stepped into the nursery and looked around. A worker was taking bricks out of a cart to fix the front of Seft-kani's house while various dragonets were roaming around and inspecting the cart and it's contents. The worker, who plainly was not used to seeing such large reptilian creatures so close, was visibly nervous and trying to finish the house front as quickly as possible.

It was Khepri, sociable as she was, who finally pushed her head right up against the man's chest. Anyone who had been around dragonets before would know that she was clearly only looking for a head scratch, but the man thought that she was looking for a meal. With a yelp, he jumped back and tripped over the cart of bricks, spilling them into the street. The few dragonets near him shrieked and the loud and unexpected noise. Mikna, the oldest of the clutch, happened to be too close to the cart to get out of the way in time. The bricks tumbled down and smashed against her tail and leg.

With a cry of alarm, the dragon spread her wings and jumped away, beating down with her wings at her assailant. And didn't touch the ground again. Mikna began beating her wings furiously trying to gain height as the boys and Mayat gawked as the first dragonet in the wing took her First Flight.

Anteros recovered first and grabbed Ban-at-ka's hand. "Call her back before she gets too high and is scared to land!"

The Fledgling looked at Anteros, stunned, for a moment before giving a high pitched whistle and calling, "Mikna!"

Mikna found herself torn between her instinct which told her to fly as far and fast away as possible and her beloved on the ground. She hovered for a few moments, bobbing up and down midair while the apprentices and Fledglings looked on anxiously. In the end, it was no contest, and Mikna slowly glided down, making an ungraceful landing at the feet of her bonded.

The worker had by this time made a quick exit while no one was paying attention. No one seemed to notice his absence while they crowded around the pair, offering congratulations and thumping Ban-at-ka on the back. Mayat shook her head ruefully as boys chose to precariously balance on bits of rubble rather than actually pick up the bricks, and knelt down to do so. As she was throwing bricks into the barrow, Anteros saw what she was doing and walked over to assist.

"Well, that was exciting." He said calmly.

Mayat aimed a brick at the barrow. "I hope Khepri doesn't decide to make such a dramatic First Flight, she's enough of a handful already."

"I'm just glad Ban-at-ka managed to get her down before she wound up halfway to Mefis." Anteros said ruefully.

"Good luck trying to get Ifht-nu off the ground anytime soon. You'll have to walk halfway to Mefis to try to convince him it would be easier if he could fly."

"True, true."

There was a brief silence before Mayat said. "What do you think it will be like when it's our dragons taking their First Flight?"

Anteros thought a moment before saying, "I think it's one of those trials where you never know how you will do until the moment comes."

Mayat looked over to see Jahil bragging, "I knew my numbers were right, I knew she was going to start flying soon…" and Marik aiming a punch at him.

"I think we know how Jahil will do." Mayat said.

"Annoy his dragon until it takes to the skies to escape? Yes, most likely."

"Not what I was going to say, but good guess."

xxx

Over the next sennight every dragon in the nursery took to the skies at some point. Khepri was right in the middle, and caused quite a stir when she chose to fly all over Aerie, forcing Rasui and Mayat to run from end to end to keep up with her, before she decided to land up on the cliffs and not come down. Three candlemarks later, she got tired of watching Rasui and Mayat try to climb up to help her down, and took off, landing neatly in front of her own pen. The entire four candlemark ordeal of climbing down from a precipice gave Mayat plenty of time to think about how much she would like to strangle the little purple-and-sand dragonet.

Rasui never lost his patience with her, much to the relief of everyone. The next moons consisted of a never-ending cycle of watching over the growing dragons, training flight commands, maneuvers, and most important of all, wing strengthening exercises.

In no time, Mayat found the six moon apprenticeship period slipping away from her. She watched Khepri grow into a healthy young dragon, able to carry Rasui in flight for candlemarks at a time. The marked increase in her meat consumption showed how much she had grown. The fast pace her chores set gave her very little time to think about how much she missed seeing her brother and awe at how far she had come.

Time soon blurred together into one long day, with events to mark the changes in season. Finally, the time came when the clutch designated for Mayat's Wing arrived. One of Wingleader Kiron's original Wing, Wingleader Kalen's female brown and gold dragon Se-atmen flew a wild male dragon. Anteros, Jahil, and Mayat watched the flight from the cliffs near Aerie, all lost in their own thoughts about the meaning of the event.

Mayat thought with excitement, and a little trepidation, of the coming egg, and her part in raising and caring for her own dragon. _It's a shame Aryet-ke is still too young to receive an egg. He and the other young ones will have to be Dragon Boys at least another season before entering an apprenticeship. It's hard to believe I've already spent a season here. My day of birth seems to have passed me by without notice. _She mused.

Anteros threw an arm over Jahil and Mayat's shoulders and turned them around back to the Compound. "Come on, let's go celebrate at the tavern. Drinks on me!"

All too soon, the eggs were laid, and the Wing drew straws to find which order the eggs would be distributed. Jahil drew the ire of many when he drew the first egg. Amenemhet, who was a natural leader and strong-willed, took the second. Quiet and solemn Nizam drew third, intellectual Ialu-no-ket took fourth, Mayat came right into the middle with fifth, Anteros drew next, then the once rebellious slacker Kiftano drew the last egg.

The new wing said good-bye to their mentors and were moved to a side canyon of their own. Builders had prepared several new nurseries for the new wings to move into, and Mayat's took one that was comfortingly close to the old. Everyone spent a day before receiving their eggs shoveling in sand, preparing their living compartments to their liking, and waiting while priests performed a ritual to move heat from the deep desert into the sand pits for the new eggs. Mayat's quarters were relatively bare, but after living in the back room in a temple for the past season, seemed luxuriously spacious.

Mayat, Jahil, and Anteros then spent the day trading each other for furniture before taking a break and resting in the three chairs they owned between them.

"Can you believe a season ago we were standing outside the Compound with only the slightest hope of getting a dragon? And now here we are, with our own house, our own pen, and our own egg?" Mayat said, putting her arms behind her head and resting on a pillow of her hands.

"Well, we really only have the promise of an egg, so…." Jahil began.

"Now you're just being facetious." Mayat said.

"It is a little amazing." Anteros said, looking around. "I honestly never thought they would let an Akkadian get this far."

"I never thought they would let a pain in the you-know-what get this far." Jahil said.

"I never thought they would let a _girl_ get this far." Mayat said with a grin.

Jahil and Anteros looked at each other. "She wins." Anteros said.

Mayat grinned and lay back, closing her eyes as she listened to her friends bicker and argue about who beat whom.

A full day was spent moving the eggs into the houses, and Mayat was just as anxious as the others to get hers laid down in the sand and comfortable. When the day finally came that she was looking at her own pale gold egg resting in the hot sands of her house, it finally dawned on her. She had a dragon. She had the training. Maybe she just might be able to pull this off.

**Author's Note: Holy kersnapples, Batman, it's a new chapter! I would apologize between long intervals between chapters, but I'm sure ya'll are getting tired of excuses, so, uh, my bad . **

**Let's see, who do I have to thank for reviews… oh Hannahtheplante, of course! I hope you like seeing your character again *wink wink* Siran 774 has seen fit to grace me with a review for every chapter, so thanks a lot ^.^ And…holy carp! Jessica, name-twin, whoever you are, thanks for writing such a detailed and in depth review! I actually have gone back through my earlier chapters and fixed some of the things you mentioned, so kudos to you! Also also also, RaineArilan has created a community that archives all Jouster fics…which are sadly very few in number. But ya'll should totally check it out!**

**On that note, I hope the huge time jump thing didn't bum any of you guys out. I didn't think you would really care to read ten pages of prose, so I decided to give you the Readers Digest version of the events. If this makes you mad or sad or glad, leave a review and let me know!**

**EDIT: Good ol' KitCat pulled through for me and sent me a nice long review, so I updated with all the new grammar notes. Hooray! Dank you, KitCat ^.^**


	8. Hatching

New Wings:

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Eight: Hatching

Mayat curled protectively around her egg, barely skimming the edge of sleep as she remained alert for the smallest movement from the egg. In the past sennight, Jahil, Amenemhet, Nizam, and Ialu-no-ket all had their eggs hatch, and Mayat's was due any day.

In her state of semi-sleep, she remembered waking up in the middle of the night to the first thunderstorm of the rainy season and the yells of Jahil as his egg began to shake. Anteros and she had run to support their friend, getting completely soaked in the process.

Careful to avoid interfering with the bond, Anteros and she had huddled outside the doorway in the rain, giving encouragement and advice to Jahil until he swore and them and told them to be quiet. So the two of them remained hushed, silently supporting their friend in his moment. The flickering light of the oil lamp made it nearly impossible to see any perceptible movement, but Jahil was the tensest she had ever seen him, so unlike his sarcastic, arrogant self that she was sure she could have pushed him over with a single finger. He held his small mallet and hammer carefully, listening to the taps coming from inside the egg and muttering small words of encouragement. Mayat knew that he had to look into the eyes of the animal he was communicating with in order to use his Gift of Silent Speech, but still felt the importance of his words.

Finally, not too long after Mayat had begun to feel chilled and was wondering about running back to her house to grab a wool blanket, which would have remained warm even after wet, Jahil have a cry and the tiny snout of a dragonet broke from the shell. All thoughts of running after the blanket were forgotten; there was no telling how long the baby would rest before continuing its struggle out of the shell.

In almost no time at all, a tiny, tired, wet baby dragonet lay drying out next to an exhausted, proud Jahil. Mayat had turned to talk to Anteros to find he had slipped away at some point and was returning with a full wheelbarrow of what the Fledglings had called "sludge," a mixture of blood, soft tissue, and small fragments of meat that were all the baby's would eat for the first moon of their lives. "Always watching my back, aren't you Anteros?" Jahil said.

"Of course, if not me who would?" Anteros said matter-of-factly. After wheeling the barrow inside the pen, he made a quick exit, catching Mayat's arm pulling her along with him.

"But I don't even know what it looks like!" Mayat objected.

"It's a she, and I wouldn't be Jahil's best friend if I let you see him cry."

"He's going to cry?" Mayat said, impressed.

"He's the most emotional I've ever seen him, next to when he found out he had the Gift, and he cried then, so it's a safe bet that he will now. Come on, we don't want to catch cold, and the others will want to know what happened."

Mayat smiled in her sleep. The depth of loyalty Anteros held toward his friends was monumental, and Mayat was grateful she could count herself among those few. He was responsible, kind, and opinionated. If only he would ask her to join him alone for dinner…

Her eyes shot open, both at the completely errant thought and the tiniest of tremors from her egg. Resolving that she shove her feelings aside to be carefully looked over later, she pushed herself upright and reached over to the small box she had stored with her small hammer and chisel.

For a second, she debated about not telling the Wing; she would prefer to keep this important moment special, but dismissed the idea as idealistic and naïve. She needed someone to run and get her a barrow of meat for the dragonet once it hatched, and in her apparent state of self-delusion, she couldn't trust herself not to make a mistake.

"My egg is hatching!" She shouted out into the street, trusting most of the Wing to stay in their homes as the novelty of watching a hatching had worn off for most after the fourth.

Anxiously, she ran back over to her egg as it twitched again. Her hands shaking, she poured some oil into a lamp, swearing as she spilled some, and lit it. Setting it aside, she took a hammer and chisel in each hand and began to listen for tapping coming from within the egg. At some point she looked over to see Anteros and Jahil watching her silently, but quickly snapped back to focus on the egg. In her state of tension, the adrenaline was making it hard to concentrate. The movement of shadows exacerbated her stress, as it was difficult to tell whether the egg was actually rocking or if it was a trick of the light.

_Tap, tap. _Mayat held her breath as the slightest sound penetrated the air. After a second, the sound came again, _tap tap._ Judging where the dragonet was hammering, she cautiously placed the chisel and lightly tapped on the end. A pause. Then the tapping came with renewed vigor as the dragonet instinctively took strength from the help from outside. It went back and forth, until the motions took on a rhythm that became almost ceremonial.

After the first crack, there was a brief pause, but soon the pounding became more frequent, and the tempo of the motions became more rapid. Mayat felt every muscle in her body tense as she waited repeatedly after striking the shell with her hammer. Finally, when she thought that she would be stuck inside the pen forever, pounding on the shell until the dragonet died inside the egg of air-deprivation, the crack spiderwebbed wider than ever at a tap from the shell. Mayat paused for a moment. "Come on baby, come on." She whispered.

As if her voice was the signal needed, there was a great cracking sound and the silver snout, about the size of her closed fist, emerged. For a few moments, Mayat watched in awe as the dragonet's nostrils flared with its first intakes of air, then began speaking soothingly to it. She knew from watching past hatchings that the dragonet would rest for about a quarter-mark, resting and regaining its strength. In the meantime, Mayat began working on widening the hole the dragonet had made to make it easier for the dragonet to begin again.

Soon, the dragonet began to bite at the edges of shell in an effort to break them off. When that failed, it began pounding at the shell with its egg-tooth again with a ferocity that surprised Mayat. She continued helping the dragonet throughout the process, but the dragonet soon broke through the shell and lay, panting, in middle of a swath of egg shells. He, for she could see by the round ridges on his forehead that marked where horns would eventually grow, raised his head and gave a demanding creel.

She turned to see Anteros waiting with a barrow full of sludge. She shot him a grateful look, then buried her arm up to midway between her wrist and elbow in the mixture, then offered the hand to the dragonet. He opened his mouth and clamped down on her hand with enough force to cause Mayat to hiss in pain. She could feel the dragonet sucking on her hand to take every bit of sustenance from the offering, than opened his mouth with another imperious creel, and the process began again.

The first tendrils of light were beginning to touch the horizon when the dragonet's hunger was satisfied. With a sigh, the dragonet flopped to the ground, gave Mayat a look that made her heart melt, then closed his eyes and was asleep. Mayat sat back on her heels and looked at her dragon. _Her_ dragon. She could feel tears sting her eyes at the thought. Every dirty task, every snide comment, every rude gesture seemed worthwhile, with plenty credit. She ran a hand over his head, marveling at the smooth scales which were completely dry of egg goo, feeling her heart lift as the dragonet leaned into her caresses.

She didn't remember falling asleep, but she awoke to Anteros gently shaking her shoulder and was curled around her dragonet.

"Here," he whispered. "I thought you could use a little breakfast."

She took the honey bread with a whispered, "Thanks."

"Teal and silver, it's a beautiful combination," Anteros continued, looking at her dragonet. "In Akkadia, some of the mages use a mineral called bloodstone that is that exact shade of blue, though with red flecks in it. Do you know what you are going to name him?"

She looked down and stroked the dragonet's head, considering. "I was thinking…Mhikai-an-shu."

He nodded. "It's a beautiful name. Stay here in case he wakes up, I'll go get you another barrow for when he wakes."

"Thank you," Mayat whispered. She watched him walk away, then lay down beside Mhikai again. She smiled, and felt like the luckiest person alive.

xxx

When all was said and done, the hatchings went smoothly, and the task of keeping dragonet's bellies full was a never-ending chore. No one, however, would say that they begrudged the hatchlings because of it. Even the one-time shirker, Kiftano, would never dream of asking his Meskhen-et, a solid fiery-orange red female, to go without because of his laziness. The most striking of all the hatchlings was definitely Ialu-no-ket's female Amisi-shu, whose coloring ranged from a bright green at the extremities, to a rich blue, to a deep violet, reminding Mayat of a great tropical bird she had seen once in a traveling menagerie once. Nizam's gold and green female Chenzira was the largest, and accordingly, ate the most, leaving poor Nizam running from dawn to dusk.

The clutch had more females than males, with only Mhikai-an-shu, Marik-a-tem's emerald green and dusky grey Te-tinen, and Amenemhet's solid midnight blue Sutekh being males. To Mayat though, the most important dragonets, beside her own, were the two of her closest friends. Jahil-ja-bar talked constantly about gold and mahogany Safkhet, while the way Anteros acted around scarlet and turquoise Euphrosyne spoke hugely about his bond.

Though Mayat was exhausted constantly, she was content, and she could safely say the same of any of the Wing.

xxx

Unbeknownst to the optimistic Jousters-in-training, thousands of kilometers away, in the deep desert, Imperator Lucius Claudius Aquilinus looked up at the night sky, judging the time, before prodding the dying campfire to life again. _He is late,_ He thought. The commander of the Hekysin cavalry was not pleased. Not pleased at all.

_It is impossible to find good help, _he thought, as he casually flicked a wandering scorpion into the fire. As he watched the squirming body slowly grow still and blacken, he reflected on the change of fate that had brought one of the most venerated commanders to ever walk the battlefield under the banner of the great Heyksin Empire to be in charge of the decimated remains of the once-feared triumphant calvary. Not that they could properly be called calvary, what with the horses long ago being slaughtered for food. Though it couldn't be helped; it was only because of the horses' meat that the small group of calvary were the only ones to survive the battle with the Tians and Altans.

_Those blasted Altians!_ He swore under his breath. _And those blasted informants, neglecting to inform the Senators of the united nations. I will be including that in my report, if and when I return to Hekysa. _When Imperator Claudius agreed to lead a battalion, it was under the impression that it would be a quick campaign and easy victory; defeat the proud Tians, than attack Alta, where a slightly weakened force would not matter after the Magi in the service of Heyksa opened the gates of the city and helped subdue any unrest.

And now here he was, the leader of a ragtag group of scoundrels who could not even be called foot soldiers (his men were trained to fight on horseback, and were not even trained in the most rudimentary weapons), hiding in what the locals called a _wadi_, a dry riverbed, waiting until nightfall to sneak to the local oasis controlled by a bunch of peasants in ridiculous blue robes, living off of food the plebian class would have felt hard-pressed to stomach – just thinking about it made the Imperator growl in rage and snap the thick branch he had been using to stir the fire.

And the truth of the matter was that there was nothing he could do about it. Not yet, at least. If the group tried to push on to Hekysa, they would die. There was no question about that. If they returned to Altia, they would die. Probably struck down by those arrogant, lizard-riding savages, the Jousters. So they would stay in the _wadi_… for now.

"Imperator Claudius, the informant is here." Imperator Claudius looked up from the fire to see one of his underlings waiting with one of the many informants he had sent several moons ago. When it first seemed like the Hekysin would be stuck for some time, Imperator Claudius had sent out the most Tian-looking of his men to keep him informed about the goings on in the country. While his original intention was to find out enough to discover a way to escape with his life (and maybe the lives of his men, but he knew which he would rather fight for), he know had the information that would help him perhaps snatch a victory from the ashes of defeat.

"You are late." Imperator Claudius said in way of greeting. He gave a nod to the underling, and the man disappeared into the night. He did not offer the informant a seat. That would be insubordination, and Imperator Claudius did not allow insubordination.

"Apologies, but the Bedu have tripled the number of scouts around the oasis. I had to dodge several guards to get here." The spy said smoothly.

"I did not ask for excuses, but results." The Imperator said. "I trust you have something satisfactory to make up for you lack of punctuality." There was a low threat in his words.

"Of course, noble Imperator." The spy said with a bow. "The completion of the city of Thebos, the new capital of Altia, will be in three moons. It will take place at nearly the five season anniversary of the end of the war, so the two will be celebrated jointly at a great festival. The Great King and Queen will end the festivities by flying their dragons to the palace through the main street before giving a speech on the steps of the palace. Many ambassadors from other countries will be attending, so strangers will not be looked at askance. In the commotion, if one or both of the royals were to be killed, with there not being an heir…"

"Altia will dissolve into civil war. Perfect."

**Author's Note: Oooh, the plot thickens like corn starch added to water. Wow, what a simile. I should be as poet. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I wrote it on the first day of Spring Break. Whoo hoo! My usual beta, KitCat, is on vacation, so I decided to go ahead and put this up before I left and would make corrections after I got back. **

**In case you were wondering, I decided to base the Heyksin culture on the Romans, since they were the ones that eventually conquered Egypt, and I think everyone knows that Alta and Tia are based on Upper and Lower Egypt. If anyone has a problem with this, let me know which culture you think Mercedes Lackey was basing the Heyksin on and proof, and I'll think about changing it. Along those same lines, if you're wondering why I say "Imperator Claudius," instead of "Imperator Lucius" or "Imperator Aquilinus," it is because in my research the roman names went (first name) (family, or last name) (characteristic name). Or something like that. So it makes sense for underlings to refer to him by his family name. **

**Also, Thebos=Thebes. If anyone was curious. **

**So I briefly introduced the idea of a Mayat/Anteros romance, but I haven't decided if it will go anywhere. I'm sort of leaning toward not, but hey, what do you, my loyal readers, think? **

**Thank you Siran774, Hannahtheplante, and Ali Kat Kelts for the reviews!! You guys are made of pure awesomeness! **

**Update: Version 2.0 – 2stupid pointed out several historical differences, such as Thebes becoming the new capital of a United Egypt and the Hekysin being based on the Hyksos who invaded and occupied Egypt for several dynasties before being driven out. I've changed "Cayno" to "Thebos" and will change my perspective on the Hekysin culture. However, for the sake of my sanity, I claim artistic license and will keep the names Roman, because my Egyptian name generator is losing steam, and for the sake of my sanity. And because I can. **


	9. Wing

New Wings

Summary: Jouster-fic. With tensions rising between the male Jousters in Aerie and the female messenger Jousters in Mefis, the decision is made to accept a female Jouster to be trained in Aerie in order to demonstrate the level of commitment and strength of Nofret's Female Jousters. When Mayat, the daughter of a scribe, finds herself unwittingly a part of she thought this turmoil, she must learn to cope with both bullying and pressure to succeed. With the army of the Nameless Ones not quite as decimated as believed, Mayat must use all her learned cunning and skill in order to protect the fragile alliance between Alta and Tia.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue.

Chapter Nine: Wing

Mayat squinted at her blurry reflection in the smeared mirror and bit her lip as she judged the right length to cut her hair. With flight simulation practice beginning today, she found herself in need of a trim as her hair had, magically, grown out of her helmet-cut and was now down to her shoulders. While she certainly cared quite a bit less about her appearance than she did a season ago, she still didn't want to look like she'd gotten into a fight with a wild hawk.

She also needed to cut it quickly; Mhikai was still sleeping, but like any growing child, would wake up at any moment with an empty stomach haranguing him, which would result in him haranguing her. She closed her eyes and made a quick cut.

"Hey Mayat, I need to borrow one of your spare pallets, Safkhet chewed mine up again, and Anteros says – what are you doing?" Jahil said, walking up the stairs.

Mayat studied her reflection and measured a strand of hair against the one she had already cut. "I am cutting my hair Jahil, what does it look like?"

"It looks like your setting yourself up for some ugly comparisons to a dog with mange."

"Thanks Jahil. By the way, didn't I tell you not to barge into my house? I could have been undressed, you know."

"I wouldn't have minded."

"Jahil, I have a knife in my hand."

He winced. "Point taken. Here, let me help you."

"I'd sooner get a haircut from Haraket," Mayat said, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever I do is bound to be better than your judgment with a smeary, cracked mirror. Plus, I've seen my mother cut my sisters' hair often enough to know how it is done."

Mayat gave up as her second cut yield a lock of hair that was substantially shorter than the one next to it. "Fine. But I swear, if I come out looking like a-"

"You'll personally see that every person in the Compound knows that I am deathly afraid of spiders. I know Mayat. You really need to work on coming up with a better threat."

Jahil took the knife and, surprisingly, began making quick cuts of roughly equivalent length. "So, does the reason for the sudden interest in appearance have anything to do with a certain acquaintance of ours?"

Mayat repressed her urge to flinch, mindful of the precarious position she was in, and decided to ignore the question. "I just thought I would get ready for the drills we are starting today. The last thing I want is for my hair to get tangled in a strap or something." The cascade of black hair falling from Jahil's knife began slowing.

"I think it would be easier if you just shaved it off," Jahil said, referring to the number of Jousters who opted for a completely bald head rather than risk the possibility of hair getting stuck in a helmet strap.

"I will when you do," Mayat said, knowing that Jahil's vanity would never let him do such a thing.

"Finished," Jahil declared with a grin. "And it doesn't look too bad, if I do say so myself."

Mayat shook her head, enjoying the breeze on her neck. Looking in the mirror, Jahil hadn't done too badly of a job. "Alright Jahil, you survive another day. Here, let me grab that pallet for you and we can meet Anteros at the cold room."

She crossed the room and picked up her spare pallet, Jahil preceding her down the stairs. Mhikai was still sleeping soundly, so both she and Jahil tiptoed across the sand. After a quick stop at Jahil's house, the pair walked to the cold room and met Anteros. With the three working together to fill the barrows, the job was done before any of the other Wing members arrived. Walking back to the Wing's side canyon, the conversation turned to the coming months.

"With the hatchlings old enough to wait a few candlemarks between meals, I hope they can start playing together within the next sennight. Hopefully then they'll have less energy to run us into the ground," Mayat said while stifling a yawn.

"But it'll be another two moonturns before they are old enough to start carrying sandbags around. And two moonturns after that before they are ready to start learning commands," Anteros added.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Jahil said with mock wistfulness.

"Not nearly quickly enough. I have been so busy I completely forgot my sixteenth birth day was last sennight," Mayat said ruefully.

"But you are still the baby of the group, Mayat," Jahil said with a grin. The Wing was between the ages of sixteen and nineteen, but Mayat was the youngest of her yearmates.

Mayat leaned her barrow into Jahil's, bumping it so the older boy had to jog to and skid to keep it from spilling over. "Sorry, I slipped."

Anteros merely rolled his eyes, wisely keeping out of the two's bickering. Since the hatchings, Anteros had more or less become the leader of the Wing, becoming the mediator of the group and slightly more distant. Mayat felt a little sad at the changes in her friend, and she knew that Jahil especially hated some of the changes in his childhood friend, but they both hoped that when an official Wingleader was assigned to the group, Anteros would more or less snap out of it.

Mayat left the other two at the entrance to her house, where Mhikai was just beginning to stir. He lifted his head out of the sand with a creel of hunger. "I know, I know, I have your food ready right here." She carefully fed the dragonet strips of meat, quickly enough to that he wouldn't have time to complain, but slowly enough that he wouldn't choke.

The dragonets were still a little young to have completely developed personalities, but she could tell that he was going to be a prickly individual when he was older. Not that he acted that way around her, but she could tell whenever Anteros or Jahil stopped by he would give them a penetrating look, then ignore them in a very aloof manner. Even with her, he could be very cat-like at times when he chose to ignore her attempts to amuse him and instead roll over and go back to sleep. But she was still proud of him; despite being the smallest one in the clutch, he was one of the smartest, and she had had to build a barricade across the stairs after he realized that after she went upstairs, she usually returned with something to amuse him. It was an interesting challenge to find ways to keep him amused when she had to make short trips to help Hanna, and her current method was inspired by toys she had seen people make for the palace cats. She had tied a string to the ceiling and attached one end to a bag willed with straw, and the other to a rock weight. Mhikai could now both push and pull on the toy without the possibility of destroying the entire contraption.

After the barrow was empty and Mhikai had wandered off to play with his toy, Mayat washed her hands from water in a pitcher left by her door and walked off to meet the rest of the Wing in the courtyard.

Some of the older Jousters whose dragons were for one reason or another out of action had already set up the contraption for simulating flight. A wooden frame held up a network of strings and pulleys all connected to a leather bag with a saddle attached to it in the center with a pile of sacks on the ground in the center. Mayat stepped up behind Jahil and Anteros, greeting both with a slight nod of her head. The whole operation seemed pretty self-explanatory, don't fall off the "dragon," but the Wing still had to at least pretend to listen while one of the more self-righteous Jousters began explaining.

At each corner, a Jouster would pull on a string to tip the "dragon" one way or another to simulate flight. They would progress from the simple up-and-down motion of regular flight to tips and turns that would turn one's stomach, simulating storm riding or various maneuvers. That was the idea, anyway. The Jousters had a bet going on who would fall after how long (and Mayat had the feeling she was predicted to fall first), so it was in the Jouster's best interest to unseat as many of the Fledglings as possible.

Mayat wiped her sweaty palms on her tunic, and could see several of the other boys do the same out of the corner of her eye.

"All right, who's first?" The Jouster said, looking for volunteers. The Wing exchanged glances, then, as a group, stepped back, leaving Kiftano standing out of the group.

"You sons of-" He started before he was cut off by the genial Jouster. Mayat concealed a smile behind her hand. It would be nice to see Kiftano get his come-uppance, and judging by the heckles and cat calls the other boys were giving him, the others felt the same. Kiftano wasn't as universally hated as he used to be, but everyone liked to give him a hard time, especially since he was the member of the group most gifted at swearing.

Kiftano actually did surprisingly well; it took the "dragon" flipping upside down to turn him out of his seat. There was some scattered applause around as Kiftano walked toward them, sweaty and out of breath, but pleased with himself. Mayat gave him a congratulatory mock-salute, which he returned with the same pomp. Despite his occasional slacker behavior and anger problems, he wasn't that bad a person and could be quite droll at times. He was one of the only people who could match Jahil in wit.

Amenemhet did fairly well also, his tenaciousness serving him well as he hung on grimly to the saddle. Amenemhet had a great work ethic and a planner's mind that would have made him a great Wingleader, if he had better social skills. He could be brutally honest at times, and would not tolerate any discipline issues.

Ialu-no-ket did nearly as bad as Jahil; falling off as soon at the first sharp turn. While Jahil's problem was a general lack of athleticism, however, Ialu-no-ket lost his concentration almost immediately, probably dreaming about his own flight some day. But he had an optimistic nature, and took the Wing's teasing with a good-natured shrug and smile.

Marik-a-tem and Nizam were both disciplined, though Marik was a little feistier than Nizam. Nizam kept to himself while Marik reminded Mayat of a hawk, always looking to start a fight. The two brothers did about average, neither very good nor very bad.

Mayat stepped forward, nervous. She was now regretting her decision to wait to the last, and Anteros had to give her a little shove forward. "You can either go now or after me," he warned. Mayat gave him a sour look and stepped forward. She pulled her helmet on, tightening the strap firmly under her chin, and slung a leg over either side of the contraption. Setting her feet in the stirrups, she gave a quick nod to the Jouster and held on.

She started as the bag lifted into the air, feeling as if she was leaving her stomach behind on the ground. She wrapped her hands through the straps nervously and waited for the first slow "wingbeats."

Instead, the bag jerked very abruptly to the right. She gasped and flattened herself against the saddle. _What happened to the warm-up time?_

The bag jerked the left, then dropped while Mayat felt her breakfast start to come back up. _Of course they must have bet I would be the quickest to fall. _Mayat thought. She closed her eyes and hung on as the bag twisted to the left and right, up and down, in ways that the other boys hadn't had until a quarter candlemark into their session. It seemed an eternity of holding on to saddle front, her hands wrapped so tightly in the straps that it her hands were pale.

Suddenly, the apparatus flipped over. Her legs slipped out of the stirrups and dropped. However, her hands were still wrapped in the straps, and while her left hand slid out, her right remained stuck in the straps. She bit back a scream as her right arm made a popping sound and she felt a wrenching in her shoulder. She knew that she should work to unwind the strap, but her instinctual terror of falling kept her hand locked on the life line. She managed, with a supreme act of will power, to reach her left hand up and cling onto the strap, taking a little of the pressure off her right.

She looked back toward her Wing to see the boys yelling at the Jousters and Anteros and Amenemhet grab the ropes from two of the Jousters and give a hard tug.

The bag flipped back right side up. Mayat clung on to the saddle with a gasp. She began picking the strap out from around her wrist, hardly noticing that the bag was dropping until she felt her legs touch the ground. She untangled herself with another gasp and dropped back onto the pillows.

Jahil quickly knelt by her side and examined her shoulder. "I think you wrenched it out of your shoulder," he said matter-of-factly, but Mayat could see the barely suppressed anger in the tension in his face.

"Is…that…all?" Mayat said slowly, as the pain made her want to pass out.

"Be glad that that's all," Jahil muttered. "Hold still." Mayat didn't have time to respond before he shoved her shoulder in such a way that she _did_ scream before she realized the pain had mostly evaporated. She experimentally moved her shoulder while Ialu-no-ket helped her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," he responded with a reassuring smile.

Jahil looked over her shoulder and gave a wry grin. "Who do you think will lose their temper first?"

Mayat turned to the rest of the Wing arguing with the Jousters, just in time to see Marik land a solid punch on one of the Jouster's jaw.

"You mess with one of us; you mess with all of us," Jahil said with another smile.

**Author's Note: I AM A SENIOR NOW! Sorry, I had to get that out or else I would be waiting this entire note to say it. Yes, Jess-Jess graduated from the eleventh grade yesterday, and now as all the privileges of a senior, so bow down ye mortals! **

**So this chapter was mostly a development, mainly of the Wing and their relationships. I hope it wasn't too boring. I also thought that I was being too nice to Mayat, like suddenly all her problems had vanished, so I thought I needed to remind her and the readers that there are still some in the Compound who don't want to see a Lady Jouster. **

**Thank you 2stupid, Kling, and my amazing beta KitCat Italica. Ya'll rock! **


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